If this isn't the most wholesome rescue then I don't know what is!
Firefighters in Portland, Oregon, were tasked with the important job of rescuing an elderly dog who'd fallen 23 feet down an open utility hole while on the hunt for treats.
Tess - a 14-year-old Labrador Retriever - had been sniffing around the street near some city workers who were inspecting a storm drain when she accidentally walked over the manhole and fell in.
"She just walked up expecting a treat and just went over the edge and disappeared," Tess' owner Larry Beutler told local news station KGW 8, adding that the whole ordeal was "quite a shock" and he had called his wife immediately.
Unfortunately, Tess was too far down, so the fire and rescue team had to be called. "Crews on scene of confined space rescue of Labrador retriever Tess. [Public Information Officer] en route to scene," they wrote on their Twitter.
Speaking about the stressful incident, Larry's wife, Linda, said: "It was absurd. We went through a real life-threatening thing with her before Christmas, so it was just like, 'What else can happen?'"
Once the Portland Fire & Rescue team arrived on the scene, they immediately sent a firefighter down the hole to retrieve Tess, who had been stuck down there for over an hour. Using a pulley system called the Arizona Vortex, Tess was eventually hoisted up, completely unscathed but probably a little traumatized, Fox 7 Austin detailed.
Eric Patterson - a photojournalist working with KGW 8 - snapped some images of the rescued pooch, writing on Twitter: "Dog rescued by [Portland Fire & Rescue] in [southeast] Portland's Sellwood neighborhood after falling about 25 feet down a utility hole. The street cover was off as workers were doing an inspection. Tess is not injured and continuing her search for a treat."
Patterson's footage of the rescue - which has unfortunately been deleted - showed the adorable dog wagging her tail as she was lifted out of the manhole, shaking off some debris from the fall after being released from the harness.
Portland Fire & Rescue took to Facebook shortly after the successful save to detail the process, writing that they had "rescued a 14-year-old lab named Tess this morning at SE 9th and Lambert. Environmental services had removed a manhole cover to inspect storm drains, and the unsuspecting pup fell 23' to the bottom. The technical rescue team was dispatched, creating a high point to lower rescuers down to the dog. Tess was safely extricated with no injuries."
As for Tess' owners Linda and Larry, they're just happy that she's alive and well, and are grateful for how fast she was able to receive help. "We just want to tell other dogs, don’t be like Tess," Linda joked. "Don't just walk up to people and expect to get treats because you might fall in a hole."
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