Dogs can have nine lives, too, or at least this lucky pup does.
According to an April 21 Facebook post from the West Springfield Fire Department in Massachusetts, firefighters responding to a car fire discovered a surprise near the scene of the blaze.
“This afternoon, WSFD and Chicopee FD responded to a vehicle fire on Interstate 91. One vehicle was fully involved, and the fire ruptured the gas tank, which spilled gasoline onto the roadway and was heading towards storm drains,” the fire department shared on social media.
“The driver was removed from the vehicle, and the fire was extinguished. The occupant was transported to a local hospital with burns and smoke inhalation. They are expected to survive, and the injuries are considered to be non-life-threatening,” WSFD added about the incident.
West Springfield Fire Department
According to the firefighters, once the fire was out, “crews began to divert the fuel from entering the drains.” During this process, the rescuers discovered a dog “not involved in the initial incident” in a storm drain. The fire department shared several photos of the canine in its post. In one, the black-and-white dog appears stuck in the giant hole that makes up the storm drain.
The crew collected the dog and brought her to Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center in Springfield for a veterinary exam and microchip scan. The kind deed unearthed even more good news.
West Springfield Fire Department
The animal shelter discovered that the storm drain dog was a beloved pet named Ally, who had been missing from home for over a month.
“We don’t know how she ended up in there or how long she’d been in there. I don’t think there had been a single sighting yet, until that moment when the car caught on fire,” Renee Robichaud, a supervisor at Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control, told Western Mass News.
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Lieutenant Dennis Foley of the West Springfield Fire Department agreed with Robichaud that it was incredibly fortunate that firefighters found Ally stuck in the drain.
West Springfield Fire Department
“I think winning the lottery would be better odds than us finding a dog that we weren’t looking for,” he told the outlet.
Foley noted that firefighter Justin Burchell was the one who heard Ally’s yelps for help and followed them until he found the canine.
Once Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control discovered Ally’s identity, the staff immediately contacted the dog’s family to organize a reunion. The dog is now back with her family and doing well after 34 days away from home.
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