puppyA one-week-old cocker spaniel dubbed the “flush puppy” survived for four hours in a sewage waste pipe after being accidentally flushed down a toilet by a four-year-old boy.

Daniel Blair decided the tiny pup needed a wash after getting muddy as they played in their back garden in west London and put the dog in the toilet bowl.

But the dog was swept away when he pulled the handle, prompting Daniel’s mother to fear the worse.

“I ran into the bathroom but the dog was nowhere to be seen. I assumed it was dead,” said Alison Blair. “I went into the garden, managed to lift up the drain cover and was amazed to hear him crying.”

Firefighters and RSPCA welfare officers were unable to reach the dog which had been swept 20 metres from the house.

But eventually plumber Will Craig was able to push the pet to within reach of a manhole cover using a long rod.

Images from inside the drain showed the stunned puppy lying on its back.

“I pushed him really slowly and watched the poor thing wriggling around,” Craig said. “Eventually I pushed him far enough for the firemen to grab. Suddenly everyone started cheering. We couldn’t believe he was still alive.”

Daniel blamed his twin brother for getting the pup muddy in the first place. “I had to give him a wash. I’m so, so sorry. I won’t do it again.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 8:37 am and is filed under Dogs, Pets, Weird, babies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.