5 puppies rescued from narrow pipe near Colleton County manufacturing facility

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Several puppies were rescued from a narrow culvert pipe Monday afternoon in Colleton County.

Firefighter-paramedics responded to a manufacturing facility off Sunrise Road in the Town of Smokes to help Colleton County Animal Services officers attempting to remove puppies that were found 30 to 40 feet inside the pipe, which ran under a driveway.

Officials with Colleton County Fire Rescue said residents had been feeding the mother for several weeks, and a new resident watched the dog go into the narrow pipe.

The resident later discovered the puppies after further investigation.

“Thanks to local resident Jimmy Hall, first responders were provided several pieces of PVC pipe, a bucket lid, and several rolls of duct tape. Mr. Hall made multiple trips to his home to ferry supplies to the scene,” said officials. “The bucket lid was the perfect size and was just small enough to clear the pipe, which was partially filled with years of dirt.”

The tool worked well enough to coax the puppies to move within 15-20 feet of first responders.

Firefighter-paramedics then fabricated a long soft-ended hook that was used to pull the puppies out of the pipe one by one.

Five hours of patience and tedious work paid off: five puppies were rescued from the pipe, and Animal Services secured the mother of the pups.

“Colleton County Animal Services is fortunate to work with such a dedicated team from Colleton Fire-Rescue. Working together for the support of our community, the animals and the people who love them is at the heart of our mission. We are working on securing a foster home with a rescue partner today for the momma and pups where their needs will be met and when the pups are old enough, they will be placed in loving homes,” said Animal Services Director Laura M. Clark.

“This was a tremendous team effort by Colleton County Animal Services, several residents from the Town of Smoaks, and Fire-Rescue. We were very happy that the incident had a positive outcome. It is very likely that the puppies would not have survived the cold temperatures last night,” said Colleton County Fire-Rescue Chief Barry McRoy.

All six were taken to an animal shelter where to will soon be available for adoption.