Puppies rescued from storm sewer in New Castle

Associated Press

NEW CASTLE, Pa.

A demolition crew and firefighters have rescued at least five puppies from a storm sewer at a burned-out plant.

Workers with Duane Hambrick Co. said a pit bull had been seen near the former Shenango China plant, which burned down June 28.

On Wednesday, the dog began approaching the workers and they figured out why after hearing her pups yelping from inside a storm sewer.

“I saw that she had puppies in the building,” John Lawrence, a member of Hambrick’s crew told the New Castle News. “I brought in food. She was starving, and the puppies were taking everything she had.”

Once they learned the puppies were stuck, however, Hambrick’s demolition crew called firefighters who spent hours dropping hamburgers and other food into the sewer, hoping to coax the puppies to openings where they could be rescued. They even shooed the pups toward one manhole by spraying a hose into another.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many puppies actually had to be rescued, though firefighter Bob Eakin said Friday there were at least five.

There were 10 puppies at the plant in all, and they’ve all been adopted, along with their mother, by people in the community or the firefighters who rescued them.

“They’ve been fielding calls all morning at the station from people trying to get one,” Eakin told the AP.

Eakin gave one of the puppies to his 11-year-old son, Patrick. They’ve named the dog “Chance” because he got a second chance after being rescued.