Follow the paw prints: Aria the Husky freed from underground pipe in large digging operation
Aria, a 3-year-old, 85-pound Husky is back home after her expedition during the recent snowstorm to a culvert about a half-mile away off Emans Road in Lagrangeville.
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Aria, a 3-year-old, 85-pound Husky is back home after her expedition during the recent snowstorm to a culvert about a half-mile away off Emans Road in Lagrangeville.
Aria's owner, Holden Herodes, said the snow compromised the electric fence around the yard.
"I think it just covered the fence's receptor for the collar," Herodes said during News 12's visit in the yard. "She knew it. She saw the time to head out and she did."
Luckily, Marc Fortin was on his snowmobile when he saw Aria walking down the middle of the road before being startled by a passing plow truck and darting into the woods.
Fortin followed Aria's tracks in the snow.
"That's when I realized the paw prints went directly into the culvert pipe," Fortin said, "which is only maybe 14 inches around. She's a pretty big husky so I knew that was going to be a problem."
Fortin and another neighbor dug into the culvert to find that Aria pushed her way through dirt and debris to the other side of the culvert which was blocked by ice and frozen dirt.
After a couple of hours of trying to break through to the culvert, they called for help.
LaGrange firefighters then arrived to help dig.
Still, no breakthrough.
The fire department reached out to the town's highway department.
Highway Superintendent John Wisseman showed up with a crew and a backhoe and began chipping away.
He said the excavation equipment was ready to be dispatched immediately, having been prepped ahead of the snowstorm.
Wisseman and responding firefighters said they could hear Aria behind the wall of dirt and ice as they dug.
Wisseman stayed by the covered culvert opening comforting Aria while his crew worked.
Aria emerged without a scratch.
"I kept the dog company and tried to calm her down at times," Wisseman said during an interview with the firefighters at the LaGrande Fire Department. "She was patient. It was a great feeling getting her out. A lot of smiling faces. A lot of happy people."
A happy husky, too.
Wisseman said that once Aria was freed, she tried to go back into the pipe.
