TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County deputies received a call last week from a homeowner who believed a dog was stuck under her house in Tampa.
“The night before her cats were going chaotic she couldn’t figure out why. There was a bad storm that night and she just figured it was the storm,” Deputy Josh Boyer said.
After her cats started acting odd, the homeowner told deputies she started to hear a dog whimpering. That's when she decided to call for help.
Deputies believe the dog crawled underneath the home after getting spooked by the poor weather.
“I thought, 'What happened to the dog to get into that situation, to get to that point? Did it run away from its owner?'," Boyer said.
They tried to get the dog to come out on its own but it wouldn't. They quickly realized its collar was stuck on something.
“It wouldn’t come out from underneath and there were pieces of wood and everything like that," the deputy explained.
After crawling further underneath the home, Deputy Boyer was able to cut the collar and pull the dog out to safety.
“I had it licking all over me while I was cutting back the leash," he said.
Deputy Boyer said the dog, a pit bull mix named Bella, was extremely friendly and energetic. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said Bella was returned to her family a few days after being rescued by deputies.
“Just knowing it has a family, that’s what we want in life, right?" Boyer said.