'It was a team effort': Union Co. agencies work together to free dog stuck in drain pipe

by: Dustin George

Posted: Jul 5, 2023 / 05:25 PM EDT

Updated: Jul 6, 2023 / 09:01 AM EDT

UNION COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – It took over two hours and the combined efforts of multiple agencies to get one poor pup out of a drain pipe on Wednesday.

“It was a really good team effort. We all just put our heads together and did it,” said Vallerie White, shelter director for Union County of the successful rescue of a 60-plus pound mixed breed dog.

Early Wednesday, Union County 911 dispatched Union County animal control to a home on Jonesville Highway to help a dog stuck in a drain pipe.

“The pipe ran under the road and (the dog) was right in the middle of the pipe, right under a driveway,” said Travis Smith, Union County animal control officer.

It is not clear how the dog got stuck in the pipe. White said it lived in with a neighbor and somehow got out of its owners home.

“It may have gotten scared and saw a hole and went to it. It thought the hole would protect it,” said White, who was among the first to the scene.

When she arrived White said there were already people trying to dig near the pipe. She said she tried to climb into the pipe to reach the dog, but couldn’t get in.

“I was like, we are going to have to dig it out,” she said.

After digging enough space for a person to get in the pipe, rescuers ran into another complication. The dog was afraid of them.

“(White) actually went in the pipe and almost made it to the dog and he backed up from her. So she had to come back out,” said Smith.

The pair called for help from the Union County Rescue Squad and Jonesville Fire Department.

Using some poles and a lasso, they were eventually able to coax the dog out of the pipe and back to its owners.

“It was definitely a relief,” said White. “I was not going to leave that dog at all. As long as the dog was in the pipe, we weren’t going to leave. Once we got him out, we definitely all felt better.”

“It really was a good little thing,” said Smith.

Once the dog was free, it was given some water and taken home to cool down in the air conditioning.