Missing golden retriever retrieved by dogged state trooper

A state trooper in Conklin, N.Y., sprung into action Sunday when a missing golden retriever found herself in need of a rescue inside a drainpipe.

The 13-year-old dog, Lilah, went missing on Friday, according to her owner, Rudy Fuehrer. While walking her two offspring a few hundred feet from their shared Binghamton-area home on Sunday, Fuehrer heard a yelp that led him to a narrow drainpipe where Lilah had apparently gotten stuck.

He tried unsuccessfully to tempt her out of the drain by offering treats including peanut butter and cheese. Coming to terms with the fact that that wasn’t going to work, Fuehrer called 911. State trooper Jimmy Rasaphone and his partner responded and discovered the the flummoxed dog was 15 feet into the drain, which ran under a rural road. The pipe had a diameter of about 2 feet, by Fuehrer’s estimate.

Rasaphone knew what he had to do.

“He crouched down and literally disappeared into the hole with a lead that had a choker on it,” Fuehrer told the Associated Press.

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The dexterous officer somehow shimmied his way to Lilah and managed to slip the choker over her head, then led the wet dog to safety. Once Rasaphone backed out of the drain, Fuehrer was able to pull his pet out from the culvert where she had spent the weekend. Rasaphone, too, got soaked during the rescue.

According to Fuehrer, Lilah is recovering nicely and going out for walks — just not off-leash.

With News Wire Services