Firefighters came to the rescue in Falmouth, Maine, on Wednesday after an 11-year-old dog became trapped in a storm drain.

Rescuers work to free a dog from a storm drain in Falmouth, Maine. —Falmouth Fire-EMS

The pup, and Australian shepherd named Georgie, had been missing overnight and was only discovered early Wednesday morning when a passerby heard the dog “whimpering from the hole,” according to Falmouth Fire-EMS.

The rescue agency responded to the report of the trapped canine around 9:30 a.m. at the OceanView retirement community.

“The crews found a dog with her head sticking out of a pipe approximately 6-feet below ground in a catch basin at the corner of Marion Way and Whipple Farm Way,” the department said in a statement.


“A crowd of neighbors had gathered and maintenance staff from OceanView were on site. The maintenance staff was able to point out the exact location of the dog as well as the suspected entry point into the collection system a few hundred feet away,” according to the department.

Crews from the fire and wastewater departments worked together to rescue Georgie.

“The 11-year old Australian shepherd was very timid but eventually coaxed to come out of the pipe and into the arms of the rescuer,” the fire department said.

Rescuer and dog were hauled out of the drain using a lift system and the freed pup was toweled off before being returned to her owners.

“Georgie was so happy to be reunited after a long night away!” the department said.