Dog Rescued From Pipe In Secaucus After 24-Hour Ordeal

SECAUCUS, NJ — It's the ultimate feel-good story for the Thanksgiving holiday week: This small Dachshund was rescued by Secaucus firefighters Sunday after it became stuck for more than 24 hours in an old housing pipe.

The entire dramatic incident happened near the dog run at Laurel Hill Park. It started Saturday morning, when a Jersey City couple was in the the park, and let their Dachshund run off the leash. The dog's name is Khaleesi (from “Game of Thrones”).

"Behind the dog run in Laurel Hill, there is a wooded area (very close to where Field Station: Dinosaurs) used to be, and there is an old foundation of a house there," said Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli. "They were letting their dog run and the dog saw a rabbit, and chased it. The rabbit went into the pipe and so did the dog."

The couple did not know what to do. The pipe had a trap in it, possibly an "S trap" with a bend in it, said Mayor Gonnelli, and the dog had become stuck. The woman, Kristie Ann Ramos, told CBS 2 she and her husband attached their iPhone to a piece of PVC piping they found nearby and lowered it into the pipe. That's what enabled them to see their dog, trapped in the pipe, only about 54 inches in. But the dog was completely stuck and couldn't even turn around in the narrow pipe. CBS 2 actually has an incredible photo from the couple of the dog trapped in the pipe.

At some point, the couple called 911 and the Secaucus all-volunteer fire department responded.

"They dug until about 9:30 p.m. Saturday night, but they still couldn't get to the pipe," said Mayor Gonnelli. "We decided to call it off that night and try again in the morning. I think the owner thought (the dog) was not going to make it at that point. I think they were preparing themselves for the worst."

“I basically could not sleep. I was tossing and turning (Saturday) night thinking about the situation,” Secaucus Battalion Chief Joseph Schoendorf told CBS 2.

They resumed work at 8 a.m. Sunday.

"We had to shore the building up," said Gonnelli, who used to be a firefighter. "We had to physically dig by hand six feet down around the pipe." Firefighters then had to use the jaws of life to cut several feet of pipe away.

Finally, a little after noon on Sunday, the little dog was free. His owner, Ramos, was nearly hysterical crying when he was pulled out of the pipe, the mayor said.

"He was the cutest dog you've ever seen and he literally did not have a mark on him," said Gonnell. "He just gave a little shake and some dust came off him, and he was fine."

Top photo from Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli; second photo from Councilman Mike Costantino