Image
© NBCCrossroads Emergency Vet Clinic in Fredrick, Maryland was the last place Susanne Geary expected to find herself with her 14-year-old Lhasa Apso, Samantha, Sunday afternoon.

Firefighters in Frederick, Md., successfully rescued an elderly blind and deaf dog who got trapped inside a large sinkhole Sunday.

Officials were called to Old Farm Drive and Wainwright Court Sunday morning after a homeowner reported that the dog had fallen into the hole that opened overnight. Officials blew warm air into the hole during the rescue effort in order to protect the dog, a 14-year-old Lhasa Apso, from hypothermia.

Reporter Abby Theodros of WHAG-TV in Hagerstown reported the sinkhole is shaped "like a hockey stick," which made the rescue even more difficult.

Officials were eventually able to get a rope around the dog and pull her up out of the hole. Frederick police say the sinkhole was about three feet wide and 12 feet deep. The city says it did not directly affect houses or the road and that there is no threat to residents.

The sinkhole was caused by the rainy weather, authorities said.

WHAG posted this photo of the rescue on its Facebook page.

Image