Firefighters use vacuum cleaner to rescue puppy trapped in well

A family's favorite Christmas present, a Shih Tzu puppy, fell down an abandoned well in Plum Borough over the weekend. Thanks to efforts made by firefighters, the puppy made it out and survived.

"I woke up. My mom was in shambles, screaming and hollering. She said the puppy fell down in the well. We called 911," said pet owner Benny Palombo.

Firefighters tried for three hours to get little Romeo out of a pipe.



"Eventually, we hooked up an industrial-strength vacuum and sized it down to about 1 inch. We caught on to one of the dog's legs and got it out. It was a miracle," said Assistant Fire Chief Jim Scuffle.

When the dog came out of the well, it wasn't breathing. Firefighters did mouth to snout resuscitation for about half of the journey to the veterinarian. The dog eventually started to breath on its own.

"About halfway there, the dog started to gnaw on my finger a little bit and then it came around," said Scuffle. The vet made sure Romeo was OK, and he was.

With news video.