Thursday night, multiple Habersham County fire departments were dispatched to a Cornelia home where a puppy had fallen into a well.
Zuko, Carlos Huerta’s German Shepard puppy, had fallen 25 feet down into an uncovered well in Huerta’s backyard and was crying for help. The well was too deep for Huerta to reach him— and that’s when Huerta called emergency services. Demorest, Habersham County and Cornelia fire units came to the rescue, and were all on the scene in under 10 minutes to save the frightened puppy.
Demorest Firefighter Sam Ausburn was lowered into the well after the firefighters set up a tripod over the well, collected Zuko and both returned back to the surface safely.
“It felt like forever, but I think they did it really fast,” Huerta says. He tells Now Habersham that while he was nervous, the firefighter’s calm demeanor put him at ease in a nerve-wracking situation no pet owner wants to be in.
After the successful extraction, the second Zuko’s paws hit the ground, he chased after his sister, happy to be reunited with her. Huerta says Zuko was a little shaken up following the rescue, but after a check-up at the vet for peace of mind, Zuko is just fine. He says Zuko is doing well and in good spirits.
“These type calls are always ‘feel-good-make-your-day’ responses for our personnel, but citizens should know, all units would have been available to respond to other calls during this time if needed,” Habersham Emergency Services Director Chad Black says. “I appreciate the working relationships our departments have and the dedication of personnel to see something like this call to a successful resolution.”
Now, Huerta just wants to tell the firemen that saved Zuko “thank you.”
“Thank you for taking the time out to help me out,” he says, “[For] getting my dog out of the well, and thank you for coming so quickly and being such a big help.”
