Sol rescues trapped puppy

manhole so that we could catch him and tried flushing water down the manhole in our yard in an attempt to get him out. However, nothing happened and eventually they gave up.”

Harmse said they believed that the puppy had been washed into the sewage network.

“My daughter was devastated and cried all night. We felt so bad because we believed the animal had probably been washed away and was dead.”

The next morning, however, they again heard faint cries from the manhole.

“We contacted the fire department again and although they came out, they were still unable to get the puppy out. Eventually they requested permission from the municipality to use the TLB.” After spending almost 25 hours in a sewerage pipe, a tiny fourweek old puppy was rescued by the Sol Plaatje Municipality in West End earlier this week. Picture: Supplied

He said that they dug two holes initially but couldn’t find the puppy. “It seemed that the animal was afraid of the noise made by the TLB and moved further along the pipe. “Eventually, they left quite a big gap - the length of around two pipes - and then dug the third hole, where they found the puppy in the pipe and were able to lift him out.”

The entire operation took around five hours.

Municipal spokesperson, Sello Matsie, said yesterday that when the fire department was unable to get the puppy out, it was decided to contact the waterworks section for a TLB.

“There was a concern that if we didn’t get the puppy out - besides the loss of the animal’s life - it could also result in a blockage in the sewer network.”