Dog Freed From Sink Hole

Golden retriever got stuck while walking in its own yard

A golden retriever named J.R. is roaming free again after getting stuck in a precarious spot Wednesday afternoon.

A neighbor called police after noticing the older pooch stuck in a sink hole, police said. Officers responded to the 500 block of Walker Street SW and saw J.R. struggling to get out of a six-foot hole in his owner's yard.

"Its rear end had gone down into the hole and its front paws were reaching for the top of the ground, and the ground had given way at the juncture of a drainage pipe," said Bill Murray, a spokesman for the Vienna Police Department.

"His legs became pinned, and as he struggled he brought more dirt in, and it kind of became compacted around him."

Officers called in members from the Parks and Recreation Department, who helped to dig out J.R.

J.R. snipped at his rescuers while they tried to free him, police said, but once he was out, he immediately calmed down. The whole ordeal lasted about an hour and a half, they said.

After being placed on a stretcher, J.R. was taken to a nearby animal hospital. As of Wednesday evening, he was back to walking happily around his backyard.

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