Alabama Plumbers Band Together to Save Dog Trapped in 50-Foot Hole

A group of Alabama plumbers went above and beyond to rescue a dog trapped for more than a day in a 50-foot hole.

It was a race against the clock to save Toffee, a 7-week-old Australian shepherd mix, after the deaf dog slipped through a five-inch-wide hole in the backyard of her foster family’s Huntsville home about 5 p.m. Thursday.

Plumbers from Roto-Rooter were among the band of rescuers who spent more than 30 hours working to free Toffee, who was finally saved at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday.

Volunteers, including first responders, engineers, handymen and the Paint Rock Fire Department, were on the scene as Toffee was lured into a net with the help of sardines. The crowd cheered as the pup was pulled from the hole, footage of the rescue showed.

"I still can't believe she's really out and she's right here and I'm holding her," Karen Smith, Toffee’s foster mom, told reporters after the rescue.

Smith was touched by the support her family received after news of Toffee’s predicament spread.

"It’s been an amazing outpouring of kindness,” she said. "This is a miracle."

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