Durban - A six-week-old puppy was saved in a dramatic eight-hour rescue after tumbling into a stormwater drain in Savannah Park near Chatsworth on Monday.
The rescue involved the SAPS search and rescue unit, the SPCA and the volunteer rescue organisation RescueTech.
The drama started in the morning when a neighbour, Joel Nayagar, heard the pup whimpering, but was unable to find him.
“I heard repeated cries echoing and I went outside to look. The sound was coming from the manhole,” he said.
Another neighbour, Cathy Govender, phoned the SPCA.
She said she was sleeping when she heard the distressed puppy: “I thought it was trapped in the fence, so I went to check and realised it was in the stormwater drain.”
Mark Easton of RescueTech was among those on the scene from 8am. He was called by the SPCA to assist.
“The drain was very small and we could not get a human inside to physically grab the pup,” Easton said.
His colleague Nic Holmes tweeted that the drain was filled with rubbish and a special “drain camera” had to be lowered into the hole before anyone could get inside or see the little dog.
A 12m-long pipe was then used to propel the pup into a position where a sling could be slipped under its tummy.
All this took place while the RescueTech team guided the process using their camera.
The pup was located, but then the rescuers dislodged a rock and had to work carefully not to let it tumble into the drain and crush the dog.
By then, a local plumber had joined the rescue and he climbed into the drain to try and pull the puppy out.
Eventually, a RescueTech member got into the drain, also trying to find a way to grab the little fellow.
The tired pup eventually plopped down on to the sling and was lifted out.
“The puppy was exhausted but not injured,” Easton said.
Sashen Somlal, 21, the owner of the mixed-breed dog, told The Mercury he was overjoyed. He was at work when he received numerous calls from neighbours telling him of the unfolding drama.
“We are really glad… the puppy is like our child,” he said. - The Mercury