Texas Woman Shinnies 30 Feet into Storm Drain Pipe to Rescue Mama Dog, 4 Puppies

A group of Houston neighbors had been tracking the stray pregnant dog for weeks before finding her underground refuge. By Austin Cannon April 27, 2021 Advertisement Pin FB More Tweet Email Send Text Message Print

A group of Texas neighbors—evidently with no claustrophobia qualms—executed a high-stakes, subterranean rescue of a stray dog and her four newborn puppies this past weekend. And, as you can see above, the video is quite something. 

Here's how it happened, according to KHOU: Three Houston residents—Pam Ashley, Emily Daniels, and Shireen Hyrapiet—had connected on the Nextdoor social media platform. They had regularly seen a pregnant stray dog, who the group dubbed Carnitas, around their area. For weeks, they'd try to catch Carnitas to get her help each time they spotted her.   

On Friday, they found her in an underground storm drain with her four newborn puppies. That's when a fourth person, Sabrina Amador, joined the rescue party, KHOU reports. She's the one who decided to duck into the drain. 

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The rescue was a tense one. In the video, you see Amador scooch her way some 30 feet down the pipe, where she's then able to loop a catch stick around Carnitas' neck. The mama dog didn't like that—since she was being pulled away from her pups, it's pretty understandable—and thrashed before being pulled above ground to safety and secured in a kennel.

Amador then dives back down to get the four puppies. She promptly delivers the little nuggets to the surface, where the excited onlookers and then their mom are waiting. Woo! 

The five dogs stayed at Daniels' house over the weekend. The group is looking for a foster home, and if we lived in Texas we might very well volunteer ourselves!