70 Rescuers Help Pup Find Pipeline to Freedom

When Jasmine, a 10 1/2-week-old bull terrier, fell down an 8-inch drainage pipe in Rancho Santa Margarita on Saturday evening, she sparked a 19-hour rescue effort that brought together a community.

By Sunday morning, 70 neighbors, plumbers, firefighters, policemen--even the mayor--were gathered on the baseball diamond of Vista Verde Park, trying to lure the white-as-snow puppy from a network of pipes that drain into the ocean.

Jasmine’s owners, David Armstrong and Kerri Moran, both of Rancho Santa Margarita, said one man even stayed with them through the night, braving the cold and helping them seal off pipes so they could zero in on the pooch, who eventually made it out safe and sound.

“Everyone came together, and it was really nice to see,” said Armstrong, 30. “I didn’t expect that at all.”

About 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jasmine disappeared down a pipe that had lost its cover. Moran had wanted her puppy--adopted just five days ago--to feel the wind in her ears, so she had unleashed Jasmine to let her run around the ballpark.

“I saw her leaning down to sniff something, and then she was gone,” said Moran, 22. “I could hear her struggling down there, and all I could think of was that she was stuck there, head-first, in a big hole filled with water. And then when I saw it was a pipe, I was worried that she’d be washed out to sea.”

The couple used a cell phone to call the Orange County Fire Authority, which responded with two fire engines and a utility truck. A couple members of the authority’s Urban Search and Rescue team offered their services as did some police officers. Then the neighbors appeared and wanted to help. Someone suggested calling a plumber.

“We needed to have one of those cameras that could go deep into the pipes,” Armstrong said.

But the camera only frightened Jasmine, and its picture showed her running deeper into the system. The effort continued for several hours, but eventually most of the would-be rescuers grew tired and promised to return in the morning.

“Late at night, that was even more frightful,” said Moran. “I hadn’t given up hope, and I didn’t want other people to.”

That’s why Greg Pierce decided to stay.

“I really felt for them,” said Pierce, 44, who, along with others, placed choice hamburger as well as dog food in the pipe, hoping to lure Jasmine to the opening.

“I would hate it if it was my dog. So I thought if the dog was still alive, let’s just do all we can to get her out of there.”

When daybreak came, many of the rescuers--including four teams of plumbers--returned. But the commotion startled Jasmine. Four cameras scattered around the field showed her running. Rescuers lay by various holes to listen and track her movements.

They pinpointed Jasmine and began digging up the pipe closest to her.

Shortly after noon, Jasmine dashed from a pipe 200 yards from where she had disappeared. One of the rescuers grabbed her and yelled, “I’ve got her! I’ve got her!”

Jasmine, soggy and soiled, slobbered kisses on every face that came close.

“After all that, she ran out all by herself,” Armstrong said.

Mayor James Thor said the ordeal reinforces the need for a dog park in town--an issue that’s been debated for several months. It also reinforces the need for park safety, he said. He plans to discuss both issues with the City Council and hopes to develop a plan to prevent something like this from happening again, he said.

“It could have been a child, and it could have been a different outcome,” Thor said. “We thank our lucky stars that everyone can have a merry Christmas.”