TAMPA, Fla. — Two deputies rescued a 3-month-old puppy from a storm drain in a Hillsborough County neighborhood.
The rescue happened on Tuesday morning around 6:30 a.m. near the intersection of Estate Cove Circle and Grand Palm Court in Tampa.
A home security camera captured the moment deputies arrived. The video shows a neighbor waving deputies over to the storm drain.
Meet this 3 month old puppy tonight at 11pm. Deputies say it was stuck in a storm drain treading water for at least 30 minutes. pic.twitter.com/osYY8cMT68
— Julie Salomone (@JSalomoneTV) March 21, 2018
The camera rolled as two deputies came up with a plan.
"It was just crying. It was very loud, you could hear it from when we got out of our cars down the street," said Deputy Tara Quezada.
Deputy Quezada says a neighbor brought them a net and then a fellow deputy helped her remove the manhole cover.
"We went back to the car and got a pry bar so we could lift the manhole cover and we lifted it up," said Deputy Zachary Shute.
Deputy Quezada went head first into the drain to rescue the puppy as Deputy Shute grabbed onto her belt.
"So he held onto my gun belt and I was able to retrieve the puppy with a net from a neighbor," said Deputy Quezada.
Deputies were not able to locate the puppy's owner. Deputies took the dog to the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center. Deputies named the dog "Poncho."
"I was just relieved that the puppy was okay and she was cold, but we can fix cold," said Deputy Quezada.
The puppy is on its way to a new home. Employees at the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center said a family came into the shelter on Tuesday and is interested in adopting the animal.
"She was doing well. She was happy to see us, all around a good day," said Deputy Quezada.
