‘Frantic barks’ lead to scared dog stuck in storm drain. Then came a ‘joyous reunion’
A dog vanished during New Year’s fireworks — then someone heard “frantic barks” in a storm drain.
“Little did anyone know, this call would lead to a heartwarming rescue mission and a joyous reunion,” Florida deputies wrote in a Facebook post.
The Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office responded Jan. 6 to a car dealership, where “distressed barking” led to the scared pup. Deputies worked together to lift the metal grate off a storm drain before freeing the dog, who had become trapped in a pipe.
“The pup, a small dog wearing a collar with no identifying information, was clearly shaken but unharmed,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “While the team was relieved to have rescued the animal, their work wasn’t finished — they still needed to find the dog’s owner.”
Deputy Kayla Kanarick, who had responded to the call, turned to Facebook for clues. She found Catherine Celeste, who thinks her dog Cutie ran off during New Year’s festivities.
Deputies confirmed the dog who made it to safety was Cutie, leaving the owner “overjoyed.” The family arranged for a reunion after several days apart.
“This call in particular was a little odd just because of the fact that the animal had been missing for so long and was possibly stuck down into a sewer system or a rain catch system,” Sgt. Jack Nash told McClatchy News in a phone interview. “For us, that’s a little bit of a different kind of rescue. We normally get the lost dogs running around the streets.”
Okeechobee County is a roughly 115-mile drive south from Orlando.
This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 10:40 AM with the headline "‘Frantic barks’ lead to scared dog stuck in storm drain. Then came a ‘joyous reunion’."
