California Firefighters Rescue Blind Dog Trapped in 15-Foot Hole at Construction Site

Firefighters in southern California rescued a blind dog who fell 15 feet into a hole at a construction site.

The dog, named Cesar, was pulled to safety by members of the Pasadena Fire Department technical rescue team, according to officials via KABC.

Cesar lived next to the site with his owner and wandered onto the construction site at around 7:00 p.m. on September 20.

At some point, while walking around, he fell into a hole that was approximately 15 feet deep and three feet wide.

The owner, Mary, was alerted by her other dog’s barking and she realized her 13-year-old blind dog was not in the yard. Mary notified a construction foreman on the site, who called firefighters. They arrived at the scene within ten minutes.

Cesar was reportedly scared and crying when officials found him in the dark hole.

After approximately 13 minutes of performing the technical rescue, the fire department was able to retrieve the poor pup. Cesar was placed in a harness and was lifted out by a series of ropes and pulleys.

Cesar appeared healthy and uninjured and shook the construction dust off his fur before reuniting with his owner.

Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin spoke of the “unique challenges” they faced while saving the dog.

“This is a construction zone. Confined space rescues are low-frequency, high-risk. There’s a lot of steps we need to do to make it as safe as possible. For not just the dog but also our rescuers,” Augustin told KABC.

But Augustin was delighted that the rescue was performed successfully.

“It always makes us feel good. At the end of the day, all of us are pet lovers,” he added.

The Pasadena Fire Department released a video of the retrieval and thanked the fire departments of Arcadia, South Pasadena, and Glendale Fire for assisting with the rescue.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.