'Us tough guys, we had some feelings for it'

SUTHERLIN, Ore. -- We are used to hearing stories of firefighters rescuing cats from trees, but we rarely hear about puppies being saved from recliners.

Robert and Pat Kinnear have an adorable little dog named Pixie.

Pixie is a 12-week-old Pomeranian-Jack Russell Terrier mix puppy who is full of energy, and lots of curiosity. It's that curiosity that got her in trouble Wednesday, when she climbed under a powered recliner her owner was sitting in.

According to her owner, Robert Kinnear, that's when things went terribly wrong. "When she hit the switch, it's a power switch to recline the chair, and she got caught in the screw assembly," Robert said.

Not knowing how to get her out, Robert's wife Pat called 911, and Fire District No. 2 Lieutenant Scott McKnight and Engineer Mike Merlino responded quickly to the scene.

"She had the chair upside down and was holding the puppy, so we grabbed the puppy and it was in there so tight that it's eyes were actually pulled back," said Merlino. "I could see his heart beating in his throat."

At one point, Pixie appeared to stop breathing and the firefighters had to aggressively stimulate the puppy to keep breathing. Eventually the firefighters determined the only way to free the puppy was to use a metal cutting saw and remove the gear system and the puppy together.

Crews put her in the ambulance and rushed her to the Sutherlin Veterinary Hospital, where doctors and the EMT's worked to get her out.

Mike says they were eventually able to pry her free, much to their delight. "That was a tough call," he said. "I know it's just a puppy, but you're there, the puppy is crying and yelping, and us tough guys, we had some feelings for it."

Pixie is back to her energetic self with only a few scratches on her neck to show for it.

Robert says he couldn't be more thankful to the firefighters for saving his dog.

Holding Pixie close to him and laughing, he told KPIC News, "They did a wonderful job, I don't care if they did cut my chair up."