LORAIN, Ohio (WJW) -- An Ohio pet owner let her pooch outside before bedtime but then the woman watched her dog disappear before her eyes, firefighters said.
That's because the little pug -- named Millie -- suddenly fell into an open sump pump pipe that had a missing lid, Lt. Eric Kelley told WJW.
Sump pumps are used to move excess water out of or away from your home to prevent flooding.
Lorain firefighters responded early Friday morning to the frantic call from Millie's owner and found the little dog stuck 6 feet down in standing water. The drain opening is 2 feet in diameter, Kelley said.
"The dog was cold and just looking up at us with her eyes," he said.
"We had to disconnect the elbow of the pipe, lower a rope, make a sort of clove hitch loop around the dog and tighten the loop around her," said Rick Valentik, with the Lorain Fire Department.
"Then we lifted her (Millie) out of the sump pump pipe as one of our guys was head first, halfway down the hole. She was wet and shivering. I held her until her owner came back out with a towel," Valentik said.
Millie's relieved owner was thankful as she hugged her dog, Kelley added.
"We worked as a team to come up with an idea. It felt good and it's a nice feeling to know we did our job," Kelley said.
The sump pump lid has been re-attached and secured.
