Men help rescue poodle from sewer

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The 13-year-old dog escaped through an open gate and fell into a sewer.

By DENISE DICK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

BOARDMAN — Cats aren't the only ones with nine lives.

Gigi, a 13-year-old poodle, cheated death during this week's storms with the help of township firefighters Harry Wolfe and Jon Lewis and Jason Loree, township administrator.

Wolfe and Lewis returned to the main station from a call about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday when they heard a dog barking and crying.

"We thought a dog had been hit by a car," said Lewis, who's been with the department about six years.

They grabbed a flashlight and started looking for the animal.

Wolfe, a 10-year department veteran, spotted the small, gray pooch clinging to the ledge of a storm sewer, just west of the U.S. Route 224-California Avenue intersection.

The two firefighters went in for the rescue.

Loree, who was surveying damage from the storm, saw the activity and stopped to help.

Loree held the flashlight while Wolfe removed the manhole cover. Inside they saw a wet and muddy Gigi looking up, hoping for help.

The rescue

Lewis dropped the roughly six feet into the sewer, picked up the dog and lifted her out. Fortunately for him, Gigi doesn't bite.

If another heavy rain fell before they got to her, the firefighters believe the dog may have been swept into the pipes and possibly drowned.

"We knew she had to be somebody's pet — the way she acted around people," Wolfe said.

Her weight tipped them off that she was well-cared for, too.

"Strays are usually a little on the thin side," Loree chuckled. "This one's a little plump."

They took the dog back to the station, bathed her, gave her water, some turkey and a place to sleep for the night.

"She doesn't get turkey so she probably really liked that," said George Jonda, Gigi's owner.

The next morning, the firefighters called the Mahoning County Dog Warden who picked her up and took her to the pound. Her owners retrieved her later that day.

"My granddaughter had left the gate open," said Jonda, who lives a short distance away on Marinthana Avenue.

Appreciative owner

He was out of town and didn't learn about Gigi's adventure until Friday. She's a well-behaved dog but couldn't pass up an open gate.

"It's a miracle that you guys found her," Jonda said. "I really appreciate it. I really do."

Gigi's been part of the family for a long time. Jonda got the dog in 1994 for his parents.

"About a year and a half ago, I promised my mother that I'd take care of her," he said.

His mom knew she was dying of cancer and wanted to ensure her dog would be looked after.

The fire department gets animal calls but they're usually because a critter is being a pest. Lewis recalls one call where he removed a snake from someone's home.

Sometimes the unwanted visitor inside someone's house is a bat.

Gigi's plight is the first time that Wolfe can recall firefighters helping a dog in a sewer.

"This was a pretty unique situation," he said.

After some initial nervousness during a reunion with her rescuers Friday, Gigi warmed up. With tail wagging, she greeted each man who saved her, sniffed around and then headed inside the fire station. Maybe she was looking for more turkey.

Saturday, August 11, 2007