Eric Zuercher, assistant to the director, reassures a female miniature Doberman pinscher at Oakland Animal Services in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Animal Control officers Paula Pereira and Julian Taizan, to the right, rescued the dog Wednesday afternoon after it fell down a 14-foot deep gap next to City Hall. The dog appeared okay, but may have injured one paw. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) ( JANE TYSKA )

OAKLAND -- In a fitting effort on National Puppy Day, two Oakland animal control officers rescued a miniature pinscher Wednesday afternoon that had fallen down a 14-foot deep gap next to City Hall.

Animal Control Officers Paula Pereira and Julian Taizan brought the frightened canine up from the gap 15 minutes after it fell about 2:29 p.m. next to the 14th Street side entrance to City Hall.

The officers said the female canine was confrontational as it had been through a traumatic experience.

It had run across 14th Street from Oakland City Center and went under the green knee-high copper protective railing before falling.

"That's going to cause the dog to react negatively," Taizan said. "The dog is probably not usually aggressive. We were able to approach the dog and my partner Officer Pereira was able to put a leash on the dog. And then at that point we were able to cover the dog with a blanket and carry it up the ladder."

The dog is a brown miniature pinscher that had no collar or tags. Officers will scan her to see if she has a microchip to determine ownership. If the dog has an owner, they will contact them. If the owner does not retrieve the dog or if there is no owner the dog will be put up for adoption.

Taizan said it was a very menacing situation that officers are trained to triage. The officers used a ladder to reach the dog.


"The first thing we did was try to make the dog as comfortable as possible by isolating it in a particular area, not allowing it to run around, not allowing it to be so frantic. That's the key to the entire situation: a frantic dog in need, and officers able to respond."

Pereira went down and limited the dog's space. She talked to the dog to calm it down and then scooped it up with a blanket, swaddling it, and then carried it up the ladder.

"I have to give my partner a lot of the credit," Taizan said. "I was not able to reach the dog, but she was able to reach the dog and at that point she was able to get it to the truck."

Pereira said she was happy the dog appeared to escape serious injury.

She said the dog may have broken legs.

"The dog was able to stand up on four legs but we're not sure if it was injured, so we're going to take it back and make sure," Pereira said. "We've gotten dogs from (Lake Merritt) before and things like that, but not this kind of a distance or a drop like that for a small dog like her."

Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report. Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180 or follow him at Twitter.com/allaboutgeorge.