DATE: Friday, May 23, 1997                  TAG: 9705230744

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   50 lines

DOG THAT BOYS STUFFED IN SEWER DRAIN IS RESCUED

A dog that was stuffed into a sewer drain by two boys was in good condition Thursday.

A man reported seeing two children shoving the yellow mixed-breed down the drain in the city's East End on Wednesday. When Richmond Animal Control Officer Larkin Jenkins arrived 45 minutes later, he found the dog struggling to keep its head above the dirty water at the bottom of the hole.

The dog, which weighs about 45 pounds, had a wooden weight tied around its neck.

The man who called police had already managed to pull off the top of the sewer to get the dog out, but couldn't reach the animal.

``It's a good thing the guy saw it, or the dog (would have) died there,'' Jenkins said.

Jenkins used a pole with a loop on the end to lift the struggling dog out of the water.

He said the animal had a bloody muzzle, possibly sustained in trying to stay out of the sewer.

``They had to shove it hard to force it through the opening,'' Jenkins said.

Jenkins said the two boys ran away when police showed up.

The dog had no collar and no identification.

Jenkins took the dog to Boulevard Animal Hospital where it was bathed and checked by Dr. Kim Eaton.

``She was just covered with nasty, filthy water,'' Eaton said. She said the dog looks healthy and is probably owned by someone because it isn't particularly thin.

Inspired by the dog's survival, Eaton decided to give it a name - ``Lucky.''

She said her office received more than 30 calls Thursday from people interested in adopting the dog.

Selina Deale, the city's superintendent of animal control, said it wasn't the first time she's dealt with a case of this type. Two months ago, a police officer saved a puppy that had been shoved into a drain.

``Some people are just mean spirited,'' said Deale. ``I guess it's what's wrong with the world today.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dr. Kim Eaton examines the dog that was pulled from a sewer drain

after struggling to stay above water for 45 minutes with a weight on

its neck.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu