Sometimes animals get themselves stuck in some pretty trick places and need a little human help getting out. That was the case in 2021, after a dog became trapped in a concrete wall for five days — until firefighters came to her rescue.
Connie Frick and Lynn Herman, from Cincinnati, are the owners of a terrier mix named Gertie. They told WXIX that their dog is a bit of an “escape artist” who likes to run off from home.
But when Gertie escaped out their door and ran into the woods last week, they became worried when she didn’t come home. The owners put up missing dog signs around the neighborhood, as days passed with no signs of Gertie.
But then, a neighbor named Vanessa Roland started hearing noises in her garage — the sounds of an animal coming from the walls. A neighbor called authorities on Sunday, and soon they realized it was in fact an animal trapped between the concrete walls: it was Gertie!
Firefighters from the Cincinnati Fire Department’s Truck 20 arrived on the scene, and quickly got to work trying to free the dog.
In a video posted by the department, a firefighter is seen hitting the concrete wall with a sledgehammer, gradually chipping away at it until they could reach Gertie.
Soon, the dog appears, and the firefighter helps her get out — finally safe and sound after a long ordeal.
It is believed that Gertie got stuck in the wall after falling from Vanessa’s garage roof. She was also reportedly stuck back there for five days.
While that’s a long, scary ordeal for a dog to go through, Gertie seemed to be in good health, and happily ran to her owners after being freed.
“It was just so sweet, just wagging that little nub tail, and she was just so, she was so excited,” owner Connie Frick told WXIX.
“We’re just very happy and lucky and very grateful to our neighbors.”
News of the rescue has now gone viral, with the video being viewed over 98,000 times on Facebook. Many commenters praised the firefighter team as heroes and were thrilled that Gertie got out safe and sound.
“This run ended in a happy reunion and a job well done by Truck 20!” the Cincinnati Fire Department wrote.