A ruff situation: Omaha firefighters rescue St. Bernard from hole in backyard
KETV, TONY VLACH, CNN
By Izzy Fonfara Drewel
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OMAHA (KETV) — It was supposed to be a Zen garden, but it became a “ruff” situation.
Tony Vlach and his wife were landscaping in the backyard on Saturday when they heard yelping. He turned around to find his 11-year-old St. Bernard, Minnie, in a 4-foot-deep hole.
“I ran over there as quick as I could, started to try to dig with my hands, it wasn’t working,” Vlach said. “I got a shovel, started digging with it, and every time I would dig some dirt out of the hole, it would fall back in.”
Unlike her name, Minnie is not mini. She was a 100-pound dog stuck in a hole that was only 12 inches wide. Vlach tried to go to neighbors for help, but no one was home.
“I’m worried that every time I stick the shovel in, I’m going to hit the dog when I try to get the dog out and hurt her,” Vlach said. “I thought, ‘This isn’t going to work,’ so I went and called 911 up.”
Originally, 911 referred him to the Nebraska Humane Society but they said they didn’t have the resources to help. He then spoke to the fire department — 10 minutes later, 20 firefighters and officers showed up to save Minnie.
“I asked if they’d ever seen anything like this before and one of them who’s been there for 15 years said they’ve never done anything like this,” Vlach said. “Another firefighter told me, ‘I’ve been here for 20 years and we’ve never had to do anything like this.'”
After 30 minutes of digging, the first responders pulled Minnie to safety. She had no injuries, just a little dirty.
“I just want to thank the fire department for doing that. I’m just very, very happy and very, very thankful that you guys came as quick as you did and rescued my poor dog,” Vlach said.
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