Forada Fire Department saves puppy that fell into well

FORADA — When the Forada Fire Department was paged out Wednesday morning, Feb. 7, Josh Anderson, second assistant chief, said it was for a call people hear stories about but it was a call he never thought they would do themselves.

The page was for a puppy that had fallen down a well at a residence in Forada. The puppy is 7 weeks old.

When the firefighters arrived on scene, Anderson said the owner, Jena Vander Broek, was panicking and very concerned about the puppy.

All the puppies were located in the basement and were all fenced in — except for the one that Anderson said somehow managed to get out and fall in the well.

Vander Broek said she was shocked how the puppy made it out of its box.

“With it being so early in the morning, my fiance went to check on them, and heard her yelping from the well area,” Vander Broek said. “It was surrounded by a gate and plastic was covering it. Her box was also gated, so we were surprised that she had even managed to get out of it. We think that she had the strength to pull herself over it, or somehow got around it.”

Contributed photo / Jena Vander Broek

The tube, or well casing, the puppy fell down was about 16 inches around and about 16 feet down. Anderson said near the end of the tube, before it reached the water, there was a small 3-inch lip around it that the puppy was hanging onto and that the puppy was not in the water.

“I was honestly a wreck while she was down there, especially seeing her looking up at us from down there,” said Vander Broek.

She said they called the fire department right away.

After arriving at the house, Anderson said the crew brainstormed some ideas and came up with a plan.

That plan was unsuccessful.

While waiting on a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy to bring them a tool, Anderson said the firefighters came up with another idea — they made a loop with a piece of rope and taped it to a rod.

“We shimmied it down to the puppy and then harnessed it around her shoulders,” said Anderson. “Then we pulled it up and got the puppy out.”

Anderson said it was a very humbling experience to be a part of and that he was “very proud” of the way the team worked together to get the puppy out.

The puppy was then handed off to its owner.

Vander Broek said there was nothing but relief and gratitude after the puppy was safely taken out of the well.

“I was in tears. I was so happy,” she said. “Right afterward, we brought her to the vet and she was given a clean bill of health. They put her in the incubator to make sure that she was warmed up. She is happy, healthy and getting so much love!”