A 14-year-old dog that had been missing for 12 days is back with her owner after being rescued from a storm drain Thursday morning.
Puff, a labrador retriever mix, is in good condition, said Judy Umstead, head of the town’s Animal Control department.
The dog went missing while on a walk with her owner, Cynthia Edgar, in a Woodbury brook.
“It was very upsetting,” Edgar said Thursday. “I had hoped for a day or two then after that I thought that something very bad had happened to her and I had just about lost all hope that I would find her.”
The search got its first break Thursday when someone at the Chevrolet dealership on Main Street heard the dog whimpering from a storm drain.
With the help of the dealership employees, police and the Department of Public Works, the drain cover was removed and the dog was rescued, Umstead said.
“There’s so much horrible stuff in the news these days and horrible things involving animals. It was nice to have a happy ending,” Umstead said.
Umstead said that Edgar was immediately called and came down to the scene to reunite with her lost pet.
“It was one of those times you’re never going to forget how you felt and where you were,” Edgar said. “I couldn’t believe it I had tears of joy I was crying because I missed her and I was so grateful that she’d been found.”
FoxCT reporter Jeevan Vittal contributed to this report.
Text by Kelly Glista, Hartford Courant; Video By Jeevan Vittal, Fox CT