California animal rescue officers were called in after
an eight-month old German Shepherd dog mysteriously got his head
stuck in a wall this week.
Stricken pooch Rebel was found whimpering with his head sticking
out one side of the 18-inch thick wall in Desert Hot Springs, east
of Los Angeles, while his body remained firmly on the other.
"My initial reaction was, 'Wow, howd he get in there?'" said
Riverside County Animal Services Sergeant James Huffman. "And why
is there a hole that big in the wall?"
"It was a very odd situation .. It was uncertain if he was
chasing another animal, or just curious," he added.
After checking that Rebel could breathe comfortably, Huffman and
fellow officer Hector Palafox took up position on either side of
the block wall.
"One officer worked the dogs head from one side of the wall,
while the other officer worked the dogs body on the other side,"
said a statement by the Department of Animal Services in Riverside
County.
Palafox "pushed the dogs ears back to ensure the dog would not
suffer during the rescue attempt," it added, saying that it took 30
minutes and some "minor nudging" to free the trapped canine.
Huffman said Rebel helped a lot. "He let us know if we were
pushing too hard -- but he kept working right along with us ... You
could see his hind legs stiffen to assist in the direction we were
going.
"He knew we were there to save him."
After the dazed dog's release, the officers suggested he be kept
away from the wall behind a gate, while also advising the owner to
put some chicken wire over the unfortunately-sized hole.