Using plenty of grease and a gentle touch, County Animal Services staff successfully freed a dog that had wedged his head between two boulders in a Lakeside backyard Thursday afternoon.
Toby, the 3-year-old Shiba Inu, was probably running in the yard about 2 p.m. when he jammed his head between two boulders in a waterfall landscaping feature at his home in the 8500 block of East Country Drive.
An animal control officer from the County’s Department of Animal Services and firefighters responded. Firefighters used cooking oil to grease the animal and tried to pry away at the boulders, but to no avail.
The County animal control officer called a supervisor and Animal Services Medical Operations Manager, David Johnson, a registered veterinary technician, for assistance.
Johnson said the dog’s face was sticking through the rocks, his body on the other side. The animal was frightened and squirming, which wasn’t helping the rescue effort. So Johnson injected the dog with common sedative.
“A lot of times all it takes is getting the dog relaxed,” Johnson said. “They’re so tense they’re actually working against you as you try to help them.”
Johnson said the Lakeside call was about the third time in two years he has freed a similarly stuck dog.
The pup was already oily, Johnson said, but he applied some more lubricant and worked very slowly, easing the dog’s head from behind.
“Once the dog relaxes, you can start slowly but surely moving the body parts out,” Johnson said. “It’s like untying a really tough knot. At first it goes slowly, but then it comes all at once.”
Johnson said knowing the dog’s anatomy told him what was stuck and where and how to manipulate the dog’s head.
When one of Toby’s ears emerged, Johnson knew he would be able to get the rest of the head out. The backup plan had been for the firefighters to try again to move the boulders.
The dog was stuck for about two hours, but Johnson said he appeared healthy and uninjured after his ordeal, with normal vital signs. However, he recommended Toby’s owners take him to the dog’s vet as a precaution.
Johnson said weird rescues aren’t unusual, but he’s glad to help each time.
“All in a day’s work,” he joked. “…I always feel good—but now I have to go home and clean my pants that got dirty.”
