Firefighters Pull Off Incredible Rescue After 3-Month-Old Puppy Gets Head Stuck in Rim of Wheel
Young creatures of all species are very good at finding ways to get into trouble, and an inordinate amount of those situations revolve around getting their heads stuck in things.
Why they can’t pick a less vital limb for exploring too-small spaces is a mystery, but it’s a well-documented phenomenon that includes even children getting their heads stuck in staircase railings, chair rungs and other ridiculous spots.
One space that seems especially inviting to curious young canines is the center of loose car wheels. The tires themselves are rarely the issue, it’s the wheel rims with their invitingly sized gaps that seem to be the culprit.
On Wednesday, a 3-month-old Australian cattle dog pup named Lana from Riverside, California, did not mind the gap and found herself stuck in a spare wheel.
When Riverside County Animal Services Officer Jose Cisneros showed up after the owner allegedly called in the situation, the puppy was well and truly stuck, and could not be removed.
The dog had been stuck long enough that her neck had begun to swell, making extrication even more complicated, according to the RivCOanimalsPIO YouTube caption.
Even a bit of oil — which might have helped in other cases — wasn’t enough to wiggle the puppy free from the hunk of metal.
Next, the cattle dog was taken to veterinarians at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus, where they assessed the poor critter and gave her a sedative to keep her calm and prevent her from causing further harm to herself.
Unable to free her, the vets soon called in the professionals: Riverside County Fire Station Number 69. Two firefighters, Tony Bribiesca and Virgil Messer, carefully used a reciprocating saw to remove enough of the wheel so that the pup could slip out.
According to CNN, Lana is doing well and is back where she belongs with her owner — sans wheel. She does have a new nickname, though: “Wheelie Pup.”
Riverside County Animal Care Technician David Hough expressed his relief over the way the situation resolved.
“It was so worrying to me,” he told CNN. “I was trying to imagine how the heck she got put in that position and you just got to remember that puppies will be puppies. Just curiosity.”
“There was probably food on the other side of it or something, she just crammed her head right through.”
“She’s totally fine now,” he added. “She doesn’t look fazed by it at all.”
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