Orange County firefighters rescue dog that got stuck in a bathroom wall
Orange County firefighters grabbed their sledgehammers Sunday to tear down the wall after a 2-year-old dog got trapped inside.
The dog named Faye climbed into another access door about six months ago, but the owners said they never dreamed she'd be able to get into the outdoor one because it is narrow and chock full of plumbing. Nonetheless, the little dog somehow managed to corner herself in there.
"I thought there was space for her to move, so I got my hand kneeling down and tried to reach my arm all the way through to pull her back," owner Julian Nguyen said. She was way too far inside already. I tried to get a fork with chicken on it and reached out my arm. I thought she would turn around and try to eat it, but she didn't do that either, so I knew something was wrong."
Orange County Fire Authority firefighter Hector Jimenez said the crew could hear her in the wall but had to use a thermal imaging camera to pinpoint her location.
"We could see where she was at, so we had two options," Jimenez said. "Going through the drywall was our no. 1 option, but we could either use a sledgehammer or a saw to get access."
The Nguyens' kids told firefighters they'd tried for two hours but had no luck coaxing the frightened dog out of the hole. Once firefighters tore down the wall, Faye could climb out despite getting hit by a car a few weeks ago.
"They went beyond duties and everything to get Faye out safely," owner Dat Nguyen said.
Jimenez said it was all in a day's work.
"That's the beauty of this job, everyday something different," he said. "We come together as a team to come up a plan and get the job done."
