Posted on 05/05/2006 3:28:46 PM PDT by Cecily
The Piedmont Park dog run used to be haven for Brigid Scarbrough; a place to escape the bustle of the city while her two dogs frolicked off the leash.
But now the area conjures nothing but dread because of what happened to her Boston terrier on a recent morning. Oreo fell into an open manhole at the back of the enclosure and was swept away by flowing sewage.
Firefighters couldn't save the animal, and sewer officials couldn't find the dog in time to recover its body. "They said because he was solid he would have been taken away with the solid waste and incinerated," Scarbrough said.
Sewers already occupy a low place in urban lore, a home of rats and, some imagine, even alligators. Now Atlanta's sewers can claim another distinction: pet killer.
Capt. Byron Kennedy of the Atlanta Fire Department confirmed that firefighters descended into the manhole on April 18 in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the small, black and white dog.
Before that, Scarbrough had climbed down into the manhole herself, trying to rescue her dog. When she noticed Oreo was missing, she walked to where he'd been playing and spotted the hole. She climbed about eight feet to the bottom and stood in sewage that rose nearly to her knees while she called her dog.
The dirty water flowed into a tunnel a few inches taller, and she could hear Oreo barking in the distance but couldn't reach him.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
That's very sad. Poor puppy.
Sad story. Hate to hear it. I wonder if a kid could have fit into it too. Too horrible to think about.
Just a wild-assed guess, but we may have narrowed down the problem.
The story says they were in an enclosed dog run area.
Oh, I wish hadn't read on.
Terrible story. I'm sorry for the dog and her owner. She must be devastated to lose her friend in such a way.
It was in a dog run area but I've heard of dogs being injured by other dogs in that very same run. I would not let a dog off the leash for any reason. So many bad things could happen. Even your own dog could do something wrong to another dog. I'd let a dog loose outdoors only at home in a nice secure fenced back yard.
dog gone
Exactly. The owner may be elible for money damages but that doesn't bring her dog back.
I'm a Boston owner. That makes me heartsick.
Not so. The beginning of the first sentence. "The Piedmont Park dog run..."
I can't imagine life without my big nutty lug-of-a-dog. It's gut wrenching......ugh.
I've had two BTs at different times. This story really got to me as well. Great little dogs.
Muleteam
What a shame, the poor thing can't lick your butt to your satisfaction. Give that animal to the nearest Humane Society shelter and maybe it can get a better owner.
Very sad .... but ... it sounds like an excellent new way to dispatch of those on Death Row.
You should have pinged him when you referred to him. He's very sensitive and you might have hurt his feelings. Here's his FR page:
Dogs are a great comfort but they are not human beings as much as we wish they were, they can do things that make us wonder. But all in all they are just dawgs.
Well, that was certainly nice of them...
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