One day in South Carolina, a family was out riding bikes when they heard what sounded like a puppy crying.
The family then pulled their bikes over to the side of the road to investigate — and were shocked to find a little puppy trapped under a pile of dirt and concrete.
As they were not sure what to do, they called 911 and both the police and firefighters with the North Charleston Fire Department responded in hopes that they could free the trapped puppy.
“They showed us where the dog was located,” Captain Paul Bryant, of the North Charleston Fire Department, shared with The Dodo. “It was piles of concrete 4 foot by 4 foot, some smaller, some bigger. One of the police officers said he could see the dog so we got on our hands and knees to look and saw his nose sticking out of the pile of rubble.”
After shifting the concrete slabs out of the way with a pry bar — Captain Bryant then attempted to pull the puppy, later named Rocky, from out of the remaining dirt and rubble.
Sadly, there was not enough room.
It was then that the Captain took a shovel and began to dig — finally able to create enough space to pull the confused pup to safety.
While the rescue only took a total of 11 minutes — no one was certain just how long Rocky had been stuck under the slabs of concrete before he was rescued.
And as soon as Rocky was free — he could not stop licking Bryant’s face.
The puppy had so much love and energy that everyone quickly fell in love with him — especially Bryant.
The family who initially found Rocky said they would take him to a nearby animal hospital to get checked for a microchip so he could hopefully be reunited with his family — but Bryant had trouble keeping Rocky off his mind.
Rocky was then taken in by Charelston Animal Society and it was discovered that he was not microchipped at all.
And while the search for his potential family came up with no leads — Bryant knew the next steps he had to take.
“I wanted to know if his owner was found, or if the person who found him was going to keep him,” Bryant said. “Once I found out he did not have an owner and the family who found him could not keep him, I knew he was coming home with me.”
Bryant quickly felt a connection to Rocky the moment he rescued him from underneath the concrete.
“I found out I was going to be able to adopt him, and I’ve been on a high ever since,” Bryant shared in a video about Rocky’s rescue.
And after Rocky had been given a check up and was ready to head to his new forever home — Bryant packed up and headed over to Charleston Animal Society to pick him up.
And as soon as Rocky saw his rescuer, he could not contain his excitement.
Now, Rocky is all settled in his new home and could not be more happy with his new parent.
“He is a very energetic dog and loves to play fetch with his new toys,” Bryant said. “He is always by my side, never letting me leave the room without following me.”
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