Construction zones are generally hazardous places to be if you have no business being there. There are all manner of signs and warnings to keep out the unwary — but that doesn’t help if you’re blind. Or a dog.
And Cesar was both of those things. Cesar, a 13-year-old blind pooch, lives in Pasadena, California, with his owner, Mary, and another canine companion.
Construction had been going on next door to Cesar’s home, and Tuesday evening Cesar got out of the yard and wandered into a dangerous area on the work site.
At some point, he fell into a 3-foot-wide by 15-foot-deep hole and was trapped. There was no way he could get himself free. The other dog, who was still in the yard, began barking, which alerted Mary to the problem.
“He’s an old dog,” she told KABC-TV. “But he’s still very curious and adventurous.”
Realizing that Cesar was no longer in the yard and that something must have happened, and hearing him crying, she was able to contact the construction foreman, who in turn contacted the Pasadena Fire Department.
Shortly after 7 p.m. the firefighters arrived and rigged up a pulley system to free the poor, old dog, as the space was too confined to use a ladder.
One firefighter was lowered down to bring Cesar back up.
“Successful dog rescue: Last night our personnel performed a Technical Rescue of a blind canine who fell approximately 15-feet into a hole at a construction site,” the Pasadena Fire Department posted to Facebook on Wednesday.
“The canine was extricated in roughly 13 minutes. After the rescue, the canine was assessed, determined to be uninjured, and returned to the owner. Special thanks to Arcadia, South Pasadena and Glendale Fire who assisted.”
Cesar appeared to be in good health despite his tumble, and both owner and dog appeared to be relieved that their ordeal was over.
“The dog was blind,” Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said, according to KABC. “This is a construction zone. Confined space rescues are low-frequency, high-risk.
“And so there’s lot of steps that we need to do to make sure we do to make it as safe as possible for not just the victim, or in this case the dog, but also our rescuers.”
Even though the stakes were high, Augustin said the firefighters were all proud to be involved in the rescue.
“It always makes us feel good,” he told KABC. “Right? At the end of the day, all of us are, are pet lovers.
“And I have a dog of my own, so we want to make sure we take care of not just our residents, but also our furry friends.”
