Eyewitness News crew rescues stuck dog in north Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Drama unfolded in north Houston on Monday. A dog was stuck in a storm drain and no one but Eyewitness News would come to help.

You couldn't see Briana, a Chihuahua mix in stuck in the drainage pipe, but if you listened closely, you certainly could hear her whimpering seven feet down a drainage pipe.

Owner Elder Stevens says Briana fell into the pipe around 9am, so the family called the Houston Fire Department. But the fire department said they didn't have equipment for that type of rescue.

Elder then called Animal Control and the SPCA, but was given the same story. So she called us.

While we were waiting to hear back from official rescue crews, photographer Matt Black and I decided to lower a bucket filled with food into the hole hoping Briana would climb in. But no luck.

Next we moved onto something a bigger -- a dog carrier. Again, we put food inside to entice Briana inside. But instead of getting in, Briana got on top of the carrier.

Seizing our chance we started raising the carrier. With a dog's life hanging in the balance, we carefully raised the basket

Moments later, success.

It turns out about 5 minutes after Briana was pulled to safety, the SPCA showed up. We told them how we got her out and they said that's probably what they would have done as well.