Blind, deaf dog rescued from massive hole in Peoria backyard

PEORIA, AZ (AZFamily)— A blind and deaf dog was finally reunited with her family Tuesday after being stuck for three days underground.

The Peoria family said that Lucy, a 17-year-old Chihuahua, fell into their tortoise den in the backyard.

The Arizona Humane Society came out and spent six hours trying to save the pooch.

The owners said they also tried to get the help of fire and police departments but were unsuccessful.

Ultimately, the hole was too deep for your average rescue mission.

That’s where Samson’s K9 Search & Rescue came in.

“I saw a post this morning that Jason had put out on a Facebook group and I reached out and it was about his parents dog being stuck in a tortoise den and him not really knowing what to do him,” Kim Powell with Samson’s K9 Search & Rescue said.

But it wasn’t easy.

“It (the hole) was actually a little bit more than 9 feet is a drop and almost 30 feet back ... Excavating would not have been an option,” Powell said. “The risk of collapse with it being so close to a tree like this would not have been worth the risk, especially for such an old, fragile small dog.”

During the rescue, the team fed a camera and a catch pole into the den.

“We did have quite a few attempts initially where she kind of almost stepped in to the loop on the snare, but because she’s so small and so. She doesn’t have a lot of weight to pull against that,” Powell said.

After about four hours of digging around and multiple attempts, they pulled the pup up.

As the dog was hoisted back up to safety, the owner, Linda Montijo, said, “Bless you guys! That’s my baby!”

Powell said the operation could not have been done without the help of 100% Plumbing, who came out to assist.

After being reunited with their furry friend, Powell advised that the couple take Lucy to the vet but said she was in surprisingly good condition after all she had been through.

“She (Lucy) got a clean bill at the vet. She’s doing very well,” Montijo said. “Words can’t express it. Especially, Kim. She’s my guardian angel.”

Samson’s K9 Search & Rescue is run by volunteers. Some of them came from as far as San Tan Valley to help with the rescue.

Thank you Samson’s K9 Search & Rescue and 100% Plumbing for saving Lucy!

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