Tampa Police Bait Trapped Dog Out of Storm Drain With Cheese and a Bucket

A dog trapped inside a Tampa storm drain got an unlikely rescue plan on August 23: a bucket, a hunk of cheese, and officers willing to improvise. Tampa Police Department officers coaxed the frightened animal to safety using a technique nobody taught them at the academy, and the effort ended with the dog finding a forever home.

According to WFLA, officers used the bucket-and-cheese method despite it not being part of any official training, and their improvisation ensured the dog reached safety and, ultimately, a happy ending. The department shared video of the rescue on Facebook, framing it as a reminder that field work sometimes calls for on-the-spot thinking rather than a manual. In a statement, the Tampa Police Department said, “sometimes a little creativity goes a long way.”

Once free, the dog was turned over to animal control, and per WFLA, it has since found its forever home. The station's report does not specify further details about the dog's breed or the exact drain location, but the outcome closes out a story that started with officers thinking on their feet.

A Week of Drain Rescues Across Tampa

The cheese-and-bucket rescue was not an isolated event. Just a day later, on August 24, Tampa Police and Hillsborough County Animal Control officers pulled an 8-year-old Shih Tzu from a storm drain on East 32nd Avenue, this time using a net and towel, as reported by FOX 13 Tampa Bay. Animal Control officers believe that dog likely entered the drainage system through a nearby retention pond during a stretch of low water levels. Hoodline covered that matted, burned Shih Tzu's ordeal separately, noting the animal's fate remained in veterinarians' hands.

Back-to-back rescues in the same week point to a real hazard for stray and loose pets in Tampa's drainage infrastructure during peak summer heat. Hillsborough County emergency officials warn that summer heat index values in Tampa routinely climb between 100°F and 108°F, hot enough that asphalt and metal storm drain covers can scorch a pet's paws within minutes.

What Happens to a Rescued Dog Next

Once a stray dog like the one saved on August 23 lands in county custody, a specific administrative clock starts ticking. Under Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center rules updated in late 2025, un-microchipped stray pets are held for three working days before becoming eligible for adoption or rescue transfer, while microchipped animals get a seven-day hold, according to Hillsborough County Government. That timeline governs how quickly a rescued animal like this one can be matched with a new owner.

The Pet Resource Center is the county's only open-admission animal shelter, taking in roughly 18,000 domestic pets a year regardless of breed, age, or medical condition, per research from the University of Florida. Unlike private rescues, an open-admission shelter cannot turn away strays that police or animal control officers bring through the door, which keeps the intake volume high even as the facility works to place animals quickly.

Shelter Overcrowding Adds Pressure

That volume has strained kennel space for more than a year. In October 2025, Hillsborough County shelter officials reported cat kennels running at more than 600% capacity and dog kennels exceeding 140% capacity, driving countywide pushes for adoption events and rescue partnerships, as reported by WUSF. Hoodline previously reported on one such effort, when shelter dogs visited Bucs training camp hunting for adopters.

Storm drain rescues involving Tampa-area pets have become something of a recurring theme this summer. Hoodline has also covered a Hyde Park officer's drain crawl for a puppy and a similar Southwest Florida case in which Cape Coral firefighters chased down a runaway dog.

Rules for Owners, and Penalties If Pets Are Abandoned

Hillsborough County Code Section 6-28 requires pets to be leashed or securely confined, and violations of the county's animal control ordinances can carry civil fines of up to $500 per animal per infraction, according to Hillsborough County Government. Separately, Florida Statute § 828.12 makes intentionally abandoning an animal or subjecting it to unnecessary pain and suffering a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and fines as high as $5,000, with aggravated animal cruelty charged as a third-degree felony, per the Florida Senate. There is no indication in available reporting that the August 23 rescue involved intentional abandonment or any criminal allegation against an owner.

The rescue also came amid a leadership transition inside the department. Chief Lee Bercaw retired on August 5 after 30 years with the Tampa Police Department to join the criminal justice faculty at the University of South Florida, with Assistant Chief Brett Owen stepping in as Acting Chief, according to WUSF. The department remains the second-largest municipal police force in Florida, with more than 1,000 sworn officers serving a city of over 400,000 residents, per the City of Tampa.