WATCH: Puppy rescued after falling into sewer pipe

SAN ANTONIO (KSAT) - A puppy is back above ground after getting trapped in a Texas sewer line for about eight hours.

The San Antonio Water System crew members who rescued the puppy named her Pipa, or pipe in Spanish. She and her brothers and sisters were playing outside their home Wednesday when they found themselves in a bit of trouble.

Pipa and two other puppies fell into a sewer lateral, or cleanout valve, near their front yard. Firefighters were able to pull two of them out of the pipe but couldn’t reach Pipa, so they called SAWS for help.

The rescue mission, which was caught on video, took several hours starting between 3 and 4 p.m. and continuing until after midnight.

Crews say the rescue took so long because Pipa had to be gently nudged with camera equipment 10 feet at a time for 200 feet until she could be pulled out of the sewer safely through a manhole.

San Antonio Animal Care Services was on site as Pipe was rescued, so they could assess her. She was taken to a local veterinarian to be checked out before she could be returned to her owners.

SAWS officials say an incident like this is rare but urge residents to make sure any cleanout sewer valves at their homes are properly covered to prevent another adventure like Pipa’s.

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