Life With Dogs: Woman And Her Dog Rescued From Narrow Sewer

Roberta Ingham from Nashua, New Hampshire, was outside relaxing after a long day of work. Suddenly, she heard an unusual noise. It sounded like a cry for help along with an animal. She was so confused that she got up to investigate. Sure enough, her neighbor had heard the same thing, so she knew she wasn’t crazy.

When they followed the noise, they discovered that a woman and her dog were trapped in the sewer. The woman continuously called for help, so Ingham quickly reached out to the fire department.

An Unlikely Situation

On a walk, the dog had escaped from the woman and ran into a narrow culvert nearby. The woman was left with no choice but to follow in hopes of saving her dog. However, they ended up venturing too far into the pipe, with no way to escape. The woman and her dog became trapped about 150 feet into the pipe.

The situation was frightening and uncomfortable for both the woman and her dog. In the sewer, the water was almost too deep for the poor pup. The woman tried to hold the dog by his harness, but he also had to tread water to stay afloat.

“She was at the manhole, and the culvert is in the back of my house. So, she must have been yelling down the pipe and we could hear her, but she couldn’t hear us,” said Ingham. “We called 911, and we’re trying to explain there’s a woman underground.”

Help is on the Way!

Not long after receiving the call, Nashua Fire Rescue and EMTs arrived at the scene. The firefighters removed the manhole cover and dropped a ladder down the small opening. A firefighter entered the culvert to carry the dog out of the sewer first. Then, another firefighter came down to help the woman climb out.

Curious neighbors quickly came out to see what was going on. They were shocked when they saw a dog and woman being lifted out of the sewer.

“All of a sudden, I see a dog come out. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, hold up. That’s not supposed to happen,'” said neighbor Jason Lam. “Then, a couple seconds later, a lady comes out. And I was like, ‘Okay, there’s a dog and a lady coming out of the sewer system. That’s quite a story to see.'”

Thankfully, both the woman and dog are safe and healthy. The woman was taken away in an ambulance due to some cuts on her head, but she is now doing just fine. The dog was extremely anxious but had no physical health problems. Ingham says it’s a miracle that both of them are okay.