Dog Stuck in Ceiling After Chasing Squirrel in Attic, Firefighters Rescue Her Through Hole

By Amanda Thomason March 18, 2019 at 2:01pm

Getting your head stuck in a stairway railing. Getting locked inside a suitcase. Climbing a fence and realizing it’s so high you can’t get down again.

Are these dog scenarios or child scenarios? Perhaps both — both certainly like to keep adults on their toes.

One family in Chattanooga, Tennessee, got a scare when their little dog named Bella got herself into a tricky situation, all because of a squirrel.

It’s understandable: Squirrels are ornery. They sit on fences or power lines and tease dogs. They run up to pups, staying just out of reach, and then dart up a tree to safety.

They chatter, curse, and annoy. No wonder Bella decided to chase a squirrel, even when that chase led her into the family’s attic. It’s a little unclear how she got into the attic, and whether or not she had human help getting there, but get there she did.

The problem was, she didn’t stay there. She got stuck and started barking, but all her owners could do was listen to her yapping in the wall.

So they called the Chattanooga Fire Department, who posted a video to their Facebook page on March 14 detailing their unusual rescue.

“Chattanooga firefighters got an unusual call around 7:30 tonight in Hixson,” they posted. “‘Bella,’ a long-haired, toy Dachshund, got into the house’s attic to chase a squirrel.”

“While chasing it around the attic, Bella fell through an opening into an interior wall between the den and master bedroom. Bella’s owners could hear her yelping in the wall and could not figure out a way to get her out, so they called the fire department.”

“Captain Andy Blevins and his firefighters with Engine 11 (Red Shift) brought in a ladder and used a saw to cut an opening in the wall.”

“Seconds later, SFF Shawn Roach was able to pull Bella out. He was unsure what the dog might do, so he handed it off quickly to Firefighter Brandon T. McCulley, who was waiting below to catch it.”

“Bella was not injured and the owners were extremely grateful for the firefighters’ efforts.”

The firemen can be heard asking whether or not the dog would bite, and as the fireman on the ladder opened up a section of the ceiling to free the trapped pup, he slung it down and out in one quick movement.

Thankfully, a man was waiting below and caught the pup. She appeared unharmed, and though she made it out safely, the family (understandably) wished to remain anonymous.

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