Firefighters had to dig out a Jack Russell when she became stuck in an underground drain as she chased a rabbit.
Mischievous Lilly darted headlong into the narrow 16-metre long pipe but found herself jammed about a third of the way in.
Frantic owner Fiona Withers, 65, raised the alarm when they failed to coax her out and three firecrews responded.
They tried to free Lilly with chimney rods but when that failed decided they had no option but dig down to the pipe and carefully cut an escape hole.
Guided by a flexicam, they used hand tools and a steel saw to remove part of the pipe and ease out Lilly who was lightly sedated by a vet during the rescue.
The four-year-old pet was then returned to grateful Fiona who had anxiously watched the drama in Wells, Somerset.
Relieved Fiona thanked the firecrews who worked tirelessly to free her beloved dog.
She said: “Thanks so much to all the guys, you were all brilliant. Lilly is fine today, just a little traumatised but recovering fast.
“Thanks to Sarah the vet for her patience and care also.”
Fiona’s daughter, Hazel Mills, added: “Can’t thank the fire men enough, they really did try everything they could think of to rescue her, so thank you again, we really do appreciate it.”
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said: “Crews from Wells, Glastonbury and Yeovil spent the afternoon rescuing Lilly, a four-year-old Jack Russell who had got trapped in an eight inch drain pipe after chasing a rabbit, on a farm track near Easton.
“The pipe, which was full of mud and slit, was about 16 metres long and Lilly was about six metres in.
“We could not get far enough into the pipe to dig out so we tried using chimney rods to shift the mud.
“At this point the incident commander requested assistance from Glastonbury’s rescue tender for the flex camera so we could see how Lilly was trapped.
“We then tried to gently persuade Lilly to come out by feeding a line through the length of the pipe with a bag attached, trying to gently force her out.
“When this failed the IC requested a steel cutter which was sent from Yeovil.
“We dug the pipe up, and cut away at the pipe, creating a gap big enough for Lilly to come out of.
“After attempts to pull Lilly out failed, Lilly was lightly sedated by a vet and the owner managed to persuade her to come out.”
