Gertie had been lost for five days, locked behind a wall that rescuers had to tear down with a sledgehammer.
After hearing weeping from behind their garage wall, an Ohio homeowner called the Cincinnati Fire Department on Sunday morning. Truck 20’s hunt for the cause of the noise quickly devolved into a daring rescue of the dog stuck behind the wall, which necessitated the use of a sledgehammer.
According to the Cincinnati Fire Department, missing posters for lost dog Gertie had been put in Northside for five days.
Connie Frick and Lynn Herman, Gertie’s owners, told Cincinnati’s WXIX that Gertie had fled into the woods when Herman came in through the front door on Tuesday. Their dog had previously bolted to their next-door neighbor’s garage, but this time was different.
They noticed their dog was not lost in the woods as they had assumed after hearing the noise in the garage… in reality, it appeared as Gertie had fallen between the crevices of two concrete walls. According to WXIX, the neighbor was able to view Gertie from their attic floorboards.
A Facebook video shows fireman Jenny Adkins breaking through the cinder blocks of the wall with a sledgehammer and peering inside. She then reaches inside and displays the face of a little white dog after smashing a block and a half wide.
Gertie was able to fit through the aperture with ease with a little persuading, and Adkins grabbed her up and carried her to safety. Gertie smiled and wagged her tail as her fellow firefighters applauded.
Frick told WXIX, “We’re simply extremely thrilled and lucky and very appreciative to our neighbors.”
Gertie received lots of love pets from the people who were waiting to welcome her back to safety once she was finally free from her stuck location. We’re very grateful for this firefighter’s foresight!