Rescue crews save litter of puppies in mud under building

HICKORY, N.C. — The Hickory Rescue Squad made an unusual rescue Tuesday morning, saving eight newborn puppies that were stuck beneath an outbuilding.

Members of the Hickory Rescue Squad scrambled to jack up the building in hopes of saving the puppies.

A dog gave birth to the litter under a neighbor's outbuilding, but because of the recent rain, she couldn't get her puppies out. Channel 9’s Dave Faherty could see one of the tiny pups and her mother nearby. She nursed the puppies while stuck in the muddy mess, refusing to come out.

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The dog's owner, fearing that heavy rain on the way Wednesday could drown the puppies, called for help.

“All the rain and they would not live in that mud and wet,” owner Greg Sigmon said. “I just want to get them home."

Sigmon said the puppies were born in the last 48 hours. His black Labrador, nicknamed Vee, wouldn’t come out, even after being enticed with food. So he went in first, pulling the dog to safety.

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Then the rescuers went to work, retrieving one puppy at a time. All were alive, but covered in mud from Monday’s heavy rain.

"I'm glad to have them because I was worried they wouldn't survive three days with as much rain as we've been getting and lying in the mud like that," Sigmon said.

Their rescuer, Tyler Keener, was also a muddy mess but he says saving the puppies was worth it.

The puppies will all be cleaned up and reunited with their mother. The owner and neighbors who witnessed the rescue weren't surprised by the help.

"Oh it's great. It doesn't surprise me one bit. You call them and they're great people,” neighbor Derrecka Somyk said.

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