Port Richey city workers rescued a 15-year-old deaf poodle from a sticky situation Wednesday morning, after the dog wandered into a storm drain.

  • Taffy, 15, left driveway of his home, wandered into storm drain
  • Police enlisted help of fire department, public works department
  • Workers used a backhoe to extricate the dog

On any other day, you'll find Taffy the poodle lounging around his Port Richey home. Wednesday morning, however,Taffy went out for an adventure.

The 15-year-old deaf poodle left the driveway, walked down the street and wandered into a storm drain on the corner of Bay Boulevard and Miller Bayou.

"I looked around until I found him,” said Taffy’s owner, Wesson Williams. “He was in the pipe and I could hear him in there crying."

Wesson called police, who then enlisted the help of the Port Richey Fire Department and the Public Works department.

"I was just hoping they would get him out in one piece,” Wesson said.

City workers had to bring in a backhoe to help get Taffy out.

"We were able to attach the backhoe to the root ball and pull it out, and the dog actually rode on the root ball right out of the pipe,” said Christopher Hughes, Port Richey Public Works and Utility Director.

Crews were able to get Taffy, who was wearing a sweater, out to safety and back into Williams’s arms.

“I was so happy,” Williams said.

"All the departments working together, the camaraderie, it was like saving a life,” Hughes said.