A dog found with her head stuck in a pipe near OU Hospital in Oklahoma City is free and has a new name, thanks to a joint rescue effort by firefighters and campus police. The dog, now called Piper, was pulled from the pipe, given oxygen, washed off and wrapped in a towel by the crews who freed her.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department worked alongside OU Police after the dog was discovered stuck in the pipe, according to KFOR. The outlet reported that the dog got her head stuck in the pipe, and once rescuers freed her, crews gave her oxygen, washed her off and wrapped her in a towel to help her recover from the ordeal.
OKCFD gave the dog her new identity on the spot, saying Piper seemed like the perfect name for her. The department described her simply as a sweet girl who had a rough day, but she made some new friends in the process, per the same KFOR report.
Not the First Pipe-and-Drain Rescue in OKC
This is far from the first time Oklahoma City rescue crews have pulled a dog out of a tight, underground spot. In March 2023, firefighters rescued a dog trapped in a storm drain, an incident okcfox.com reported happened on a Wednesday morning. In that case, Rope Rescue Technicians worked with the Oklahoma City Animal Welfare Division to plan the extraction, and the dog, named Frank, was sedated to keep him calm and prevent him from wedging himself further into the drain before technicians successfully pulled him free.
Frank was taken to a veterinarian for further treatment afterward and was expected to make a full recovery, okcfox.com reported. Oklahoma City firefighters have handled similar calls elsewhere in the city too; crews once worked with Animal Welfare officials to reach a dog inside an underground drainage system near NW 17th Street, according to News 9.
A Department That Handles More Than Fires
The recurring rescues reflect how broad OKCFD's mission has become. The department has said its firefighters respond to a wide range of situations well beyond fires and medical emergencies, including technical and animal rescues, with crews prepared to respond wherever they are needed, per News 9's reporting.
No further details on Piper's condition or what happens next for her have been released. For now, the Oklahoma City Fire Department and OU Police can add her name to the city's growing list of four-legged rescue stories with happy endings.
