FRESNO, Calif., April 8 (UPI) -- Firefighters in California said they lowered a rope 50 feet into an old well to rescue a puppy appropriately named Timmy.

The Fresno Fire Department said the 6-week-old German shepherd mix fell into an old pipe that led to the well Tuesday in Fresno and firefighters came to Timmy's rescue in the absence of a heroic collie.


Firefighters said they lowered a makeshift harness into the hole to hoist the puppy to safety.

"We just used one of our utility ropes and made a loop on the end and just tried to get it around the puppy in the right way," Pete Martinez of the Fresno Fire Department told KSEE-TV.

The puppy's owners said the hole had previously been covered with cardboard and a brick, but Timmy apparently managed to fall in sometime overnight.

The family said Timmy was doing well following his rescue.