First responders in North Texas tore open part of a road over the weekend to rescue an elderly deaf dog that went missing.
15-year-old Zoe was last seen Thursday, August 19, in Arlington but she wasn't spotted until around noon Saturday, August 21. Some how, Zoe climbed into a storm drain, but she was 400 feet away from the nearest entrance, according to the Arlington Fire Department.
Getting the dog out of the drain ended up being no easy task.
Emergency crews were able to track her laying in a piece of pipe in the 4900 block of Kelly Elliott Road. Rescuers couldn't slide into the drainage pipe after Zoe so they had to find another way in.
Jackhammers and other heavy machinery was used to cut away the street and concrete above the pipe. It was an all-day process, and even after emergency crews drilled into the pipe, they still needed a little help extracting Zoe.
"One of the firemen had an idea to try and find a skateboard to help get into a drainage pipe and try to rescue her," Arlington Police officer Kristi Weil told NBC DFW.
Luckily, there was a young boy named Hunter in the crowd of on lookers and he let the rescuers use his skateboard.
The plan worked, and Zoe was finally freed from the pipe around 10:42 p.m. Zoe was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a nearby veterinarian to be checked out.
"It has been amazing," Weil told WFAA. "Everyone has been so helpful. There have been cheers of joy and tears when Zoey was rescued. And I love seeing the community turn out and cheer a successful end to this. And for a family to have their beloved pet returned to them at the end of the day."