Skip to main content
Partly Cloudy icon
26º

Inside the team effort to rescue dog that fell into open manhole on Detroit’s east side

People work together to save dog

DETROIT – A dog was rescued after being found trapped and frightened at the bottom of an open sewer hole in Detroit. It took a team effort to rescue the dog.

The dog’s barks were so loud it gained the attention of a dog owner who was out running with her dog in an open field off Grandy Street, near Medbury Street. That dog owner called Juniper Fleming with Rebel Dogs Detroit.

One volunteer brought a ladder and went down to try and grab the dog.

“This wasn’t going to happen. He was so scared, skittish, barking -- very terrified,” Fleming said.

The same volunteer also had rope and a tarp. Fleming knew the Detroit firefighters from Engine Squad 3 -- who she called for help. They arrived at the scene and came up with a plan.

“They lowered it down -- we threw wet food. The dog walked onto it and they lifted it and hoisted him up from the hole,” Fleming said.

Watch the video for the full story.


Read: More All 4 Pets coverage


Animal control offers support for pet owners

Animal shelters in Michigan are overflowing with animals and Detroit Animal Control is busy.

To encourage more adoptions they have waived adoption fees. While getting strays off the streets and into safe homes is important, sometimes it helps to prevent animals from being abandoned by providing owners with resources they need.

“There’s like 1.2 on average reported dog bites in the city of Detroit every day,” Animal control investigator Raymond Hoskins said.

Click here to read more.


About the Authors
Shawn Ley headshot

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

Loading...