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Retired K-9 rescued safely from 60-ft hole in California in 4-hour operation by 'brilliant' firefighters

'Some cuts and bruises, maybe some problems with his hips,' Ken Gilden of the San Diego Humane Society Emergency Response Team said about Indy

CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA: In a difficult yet miraculous operation, a dog was rescued safely after it fell inside a 60-foot hole in Chula Vista. It was reported that the animal was stuck for hours before firefighters worked hard to get him out on Wednesday, February 1.

CBS 8 reported that the big German Shepherd-type dog named Indy, who's retired from law enforcement K-9, had to struggle for over four hours near Vista Dr & Bonita Glen Drive in Chula Vista before firefighters pulled him out. A number of methods were reportedly tried to get the dog out but “because of the way the hole was, nothing was long enough to make it down,” Ken Gilden, a member of the San Diego Humane Society Emergency Response Team, said.

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‘We just brought him right up!’

However, things changed for good when a fire crew member sent a lasso inside the hole to get hold of the canine. Gilden explained, “And nothing was happening, and then right at the end, the dog lifted his head and the firefighter who had the lasso was able to get it around his neck and as soon as he did, they pulled it tight and we just brought him right up!” Gilden also added that after being brought up, Indy’s was checked. He told CBS 8, “He was breathing well, seemed to be very stable. Some cuts and bruises, maybe some problems with his hips. I put a leash and a muzzle on him and he didn't fight me at all.” Meanwhile, the owner of the dog claimed that he will soon take it to a veterinarian for a proper medical examination and also thanked the responders for helping the dog.

‘We’re happy to report that Indy is now out and safe!’

Chula Vista Fire Department shared about the operation on its Twitter page also. The first post read, “CVFD Urban Search & Rescue personnel along with other first responders are currently at-scene conducting a rescue of a dog that fell down into a confined-space. More info to follow as its gathered #working #confinedspace #dog #chulavista @thinkchulavista.”

Another tweet stated, “We’re happy to report that Indy is now out and safe!  More info to come shortly. Hats off to all responding crew members who never gave up on this challenging #safe #dogrescue #chulavista @thinkchulavista.”

‘Not only brave, but brilliant first responders’

The video of the rescue operation was released on YouTube too, which received a lot of positive comments. A user shared, “How amazing that these heroes helped a 4-legged human.” Another user wrote, “Not only brave, but brilliant first responders.” The third user commented, “The fire department is seriously AMAZING! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🙏🏼.” “Thanks SDFD🐕,” a comment added.