PHOENIX — A stray puppy is safe and recovering in her new "furever" home after she got her head stuck in a brick wall earlier this week.
Phoenix firefighters and police officers along with an emergency animal tech with the Arizona Humane Society (AHS) worked together to help save the 4-month-old labrador retriever mix on Sunday.
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The tech, Nina Lygeris, said the rescue took about 30 minutes. After rescuers got the pup out of the wall they wanted to make sure she was OK.
“Overall she looked pretty healthy, just a couple of scrapes, some ticks, stuff like that so I brought her into our trauma hospital,” said Lygeris.
After being given a clean bill of health, the puppy was adopted by the person who found her and called for help after discovering her in distress near Central and Southern avenues.
The puppy has been named Leche, after Tres Leches Café the coffee shop the adopter was headed to when she first saw the puppy.
Lygeris said everyone tried to keep Leche calm while they worked to free her.
“We had a sheet over her, she was also in direct sun and she was a dark-colored dog, so trying to keep her cool, trying to keep her calm," said Lygeris. "I was talking to her throughout the process.”
Getting the job done as fast as possible was important.
“The fire captain was really adamant about the guys going in with the plan, doing it quickly to get this puppy to safety,” said Lygeris.
They also wanted to ensure that Leche didn't escape after her rescue.
“We didn’t want her to run away once she was loose so we had to make sure that she stuck around and let us be her friend,” said Lygeris.
Lygeris said it is fairly common for AHS to be called out in similar situations.
“We get them pretty often, I would say two to three times a month, whether it’s like a kitten that has fallen into a wall, new moms are looking for warm spaces in attics to have their kittens, and some times they fall through the walls," said Lygeris. "I had an adopted cat behind a kitchen cabinet I had to go out and rescue, so it's often enough to keep your skills sharp.”
AHS said they receive thousands of calls like this one each year. In 2024, there were nearly 15,000 calls of service for the Valley’s most vulnerable pets.
Leche is just one of the 22,000 sick, injured and abused pets the humane society cares for each year.
For more information on how to help AHS or volunteer opportunities, click here.
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