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Bulldog stumbles into home ventilation tube and gets stuck. The rescue takes 7 hours

Bella, an American bulldog, is seen pictured stuck in a ventilation tube in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Bella, an American bulldog, is seen pictured stuck in a ventilation tube in Scottsdale, Arizona. Scottsdale Fire Department

An American bulldog plunged headfirst into a dark ventilation tube and got stuck for several hours in an Arizona home, fire officials and news outlets reported.

Firefighters responded to help get the animal out, the Scottsdale Fire Department said in an Oct. 9 Facebook post.

Bella’s family realized she was stuck in the earth tube when they “heard muffled barking” coming from the dark hole, The Arizona Republic reported. An earth tube is a buried ventilation duct for heating and cooling.

The home was under construction at the time, so the 14-inch tube was exposed when Bella stumbled into it, the news outlet reported.

Scottsdale Fire Department A Shift North East Deputy, Ladder 611, E609 and Engine 610 our technical rescue team,...

Posted by Scottsdale Fire Department on Wednesday, October 9, 2024

The family tried to get Bella out with a piece of chicken and rope, but it didn’t work, KTAR-FM reported.

Firefighters then showed up and used a technical search camera to see Bella, officials said. Then they began to dig up the area.

As they did so, crews made sure Bella had enough air, officials said.

She was eventually reunited with her family after rescue teams worked for seven hours to save her.

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Helena Wegner
McClatchy DC
Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.
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