LYCOMING TOWNSHIP -- A strange 911 call led to an unusual rescue in Lycoming County.
It wasn't a person who needed rescuing. It was a dog. The pup managed to get into a wood pile but needed some help to get out.
The 6-week-old black labs from the same litter are exploring their home near Cogan Station. Monday was supposed to be a regular day of hanging laundry outside, but Tracey Barbour is quickly learning nothing is regular when you have new puppies to take care of.
"I just looked down and I saw his tail into the woodpile and I was like, oh no," Barbour said.
Gilbert, one of the pups, found a way into a mountain of firewood and got stuck.
"So I kept putting a treat in from behind but he just wouldn't or couldn't turn around. I just kept pulling his tail," Barbour said.
Barbour spent about an hour trying to get the dog out.
"The other puppy comes up and takes a nap next to me."
Finally, she called Old Lycoming Township police.
"I got to say, I even told her, it was the first time in 15 years I was dispatched to a call for a puppy trapped inside of a woodpile," said Old Lycoming Township Police Cpl. Jeffrey Hughes.
Afraid the pile might collapse and hurt Gilbert, Barbour hoped Cpl. Hughes might have a better chance of reaching the dog.
"As I did start to pull out logs, it did start to come down in places," Cpl. Hughes said.
"It took the officer about 10 minutes to clear out the wood and that's when he saw Gilbert.
"I care about my pets just as much as she does, so you would hope someone would help you do it," Cpl. Hughes added.
And it's easy to see Gilbert seems to appreciate his rescuer, too.