MNN - Mother Nature Network

California animal rescue officers were called in after an 8-month old German Shepherd dog mysteriously got his head stuck in a wall this week.

 

Stricken pooch Rebel was found whimpering with his head sticking out one side of the 18-inch thick wall in Desert Hot Springs, east of Los Angeles, while his body remained firmly on the other.

 

"My initial reaction was, 'Wow, how'd he get in there?'" said Riverside County Animal Services Sergeant James Huffman. "And why is there a hole that big in the wall?"

 

"It was a very odd situation .. It was uncertain if he was chasing another animal, or just curious," he added.

 

After checking that Rebel could breathe comfortably, Huffman and fellow officer Hector Palafox took up position on either side of the block wall.

 

"One officer worked the dog's head from one side of the wall, while the other officer worked the dog's body on the other side," said a statement by the Department of Animal Services in Riverside County.

 

Palafox "pushed the dog's ears back to ensure the dog would not suffer during the rescue attempt," he added, saying that it took 30 minutes and some "minor nudging" to free the trapped canine.

 

Huffman said Rebel helped a lot. "He let us know if we were pushing too hard — but he kept working right along with us ... You could see his hind legs stiffen to assist in the direction we were going.

 

"He knew we were there to save him."

 

After the dazed dog's release, the officers suggested he be kept away from the wall behind a gate, while also advising the owner to put some chicken wire over the unfortunately sized hole.

 

Copyright 2010  AFP Global Edition