Video Report with article written by Wes Duplantier CTPost.com

#FAIRFIELD — A hour-plus rescue effort ended with happy cheers and a happy dog Saturday afternoon after firefighters saved a dog that was trapped in a drainage pipe at Fairfield Warde High School.

The dog, an 11-year-old German shepherd-boxer mix named “Shadow,” slipped away from his owner as they were walking at the school just before 2 p.m. Shadow crawled into a pipe on the edge of the school’s soccer fields and couldn’t get out. A woman nearby called for help and several fire crews coverged on the field.

The pipe is 24 inches wide at its opening, but narrows to 14 inches as it goes into the ground toward a cistern. At first, rescue teams tried sending a firefighter into the pipe after the dog, but he couldn’t reach the dog. Several firefighters then set to work digging out the ground around the lid to the cistern.

A city backhoe came in and lifted the 1,000-pound lid out of the way. The a firefighter climbed down on a ladder and pulled Shadow up from the drainage system. He was fine, just wet and cold. He shook himself off and then was led away to get warmed up in an animal control van.

Shadow’s owner, who refused to give her name, said she was relieved to have him back.

About a dozen rescue personnel were on the scene working to save the dog. Fairfield Assistant Fire Chief George Gomola said the effort was worth it, both because the dog was saved and because fire crews got a chance to practice their rescue skills for working in confined spaces.

“This is a way of practicing our plan with significant consequences,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to work our training in real-life situations.”