City of LaGrange employees pull puppy from storm drain

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Matthew Strother

mstrother@civitasmedia.com

Chris Prather, City of LaGrange street department manager, carries a puppy that street department employee Jason Hill, right, pulled from a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street on Tuesday morning.

http://lagrangenews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2015/07/web1_WEB0714PuppyRescue35.jpgChris Prather, City of LaGrange street department manager, carries a puppy that street department employee Jason Hill, right, pulled from a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street on Tuesday morning.

Matthew Strother | Daily News

Randy Hardnett reaches out to pet a puppy that City of LaGrange street department employees pulled from a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street on Tuesday morning after Hardnett notified police that the puppy was trapped. Hardnett said he first saw the puppy about 6 a.m. while passing by the area and called police. Officers came out and couldn’t locate the dog, Hardnett said. After seeing it again about 8 a.m., Hardnett again notified authorities, who responded with street department and Animal Control employees.

http://lagrangenews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2015/07/web1_WEB0714PuppyRescue25.jpgRandy Hardnett reaches out to pet a puppy that City of LaGrange street department employees pulled from a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street on Tuesday morning after Hardnett notified police that the puppy was trapped. Hardnett said he first saw the puppy about 6 a.m. while passing by the area and called police. Officers came out and couldn’t locate the dog, Hardnett said. After seeing it again about 8 a.m., Hardnett again notified authorities, who responded with street department and Animal Control employees.

Matthew Strother | Daily News

Jason Hill, a City of LaGrange street department employee, pulls a puppy from a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street after crawling into the narrow space Tuesday morning.

http://lagrangenews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2015/07/web1_WEB0714PuppyRescue45.jpgJason Hill, a City of LaGrange street department employee, pulls a puppy from a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street after crawling into the narrow space Tuesday morning.

Matthew Strother | Daily News

LaGrange Animal Control officer Chris Bussey hands a catch pole down to Will Binion, a City of LaGrange street department employee, as he enters one end of a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street on Tuesday morning in an attempt to rescue a puppy inside. Binion ended up purposely driving the puppy to fellow street department employee Jason Hill, who crawled into the other end of the drain.

http://lagrangenews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2015/07/web1_WEB0714PuppyRescue55.jpgLaGrange Animal Control officer Chris Bussey hands a catch pole down to Will Binion, a City of LaGrange street department employee, as he enters one end of a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street on Tuesday morning in an attempt to rescue a puppy inside. Binion ended up purposely driving the puppy to fellow street department employee Jason Hill, who crawled into the other end of the drain.

Matthew Strother | Daily News

Jason Hill, a City of LaGrange street department employee, carries a puppy he pulled from a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street on Tuesday morning. The puppy was in a narrow storm drain at the bottom of a fenced off drainage ditch. Hill crawled in one side of the drain while fellow street department employee Will Binion guarded the other end and helped drive the puppy to Hill.

http://lagrangenews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2015/07/web1_WEB0714PuppyRescue15.jpgJason Hill, a City of LaGrange street department employee, carries a puppy he pulled from a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street on Tuesday morning. The puppy was in a narrow storm drain at the bottom of a fenced off drainage ditch. Hill crawled in one side of the drain while fellow street department employee Will Binion guarded the other end and helped drive the puppy to Hill.

Matthew Strother | Daily News

LaGRANGE — A good Samaritan and city employees rescued a puppy apparently trapped in a storm drain in the 100 block of Ashton Street on Tuesday morning.

Passerby Randy Hardnett said he heard the puppy while passing by the fenced off drainage ditch about 6 a.m. He then saw the puppy inside the drain at the bottom of the ditch and called police.

Officers came out and couldn’t locate the dog, Hardnett said. After seeing it again about 8 a.m., Hardnett again notified authorities, who responded with LaGrange street department and Animal Control employees.

Jason Hill, a City of LaGrange street department employee, crawled in one side of the drain while fellow street department employee Will Binion guarded the other end. They spent about 30 minutes trying to coax the young dog to either side of the drain where they could reach it.

Eventually, Binion was able to drive the puppy close enough for Hill to grab it from the other end. Hill brought the puppy up from the ditch and handed it over the fence to street department manager Chris Prather, who in turn handed it over to Animal Control officer Chris Bussey.

Bussey took the puppy to be examined by a vet and said Animal Control will hold the dog for 96 hours for an owner to reclaim it. If it isn’t claimed, the dog will be available for adoption after 10 days, or Bussey said Animal Control may send the pup to a rescue that can quickly find it a home.

The LaGrange Animal Shelter may be reached at 706-298-3606.