Missing dog in Whitman found trapped in storm drain

WHITMAN, Mass. — George and Birgit Mager’s puggle Daisy has been a beloved member of their family for more than a decade, so imagine how they felt when she vanished without a trace from their Whitman home Wednesday afternoon.

George was working in his garden and Birgit was tending to their lawn as Daisy roamed around their backyard on School Street. They each thought Daisy was with the other, until they went inside.

“I looked on the couch because she’s always with us on the couch and I said, ‘Where’s Daisy?’” Birgit recalled.

The couple searched everywhere for Daisy, but she was nowhere to be found. They feared the worst: Was she stolen? Did a wild animal get her? Could she have wandered off into the woods to die naturally?

“George was crushed,” Birgit said. “He had tears in his eyes.”

Birgit posted in a town Facebook group, asking if anyone had seen Daisy. Four women from Missing Dogs Massachusetts came to their home and helped search an area of thick brush out back, but they didn’t find any sign of Daisy.

“It was a horrible 24 hours,” George said. “A big empty spot in our living room.”

On Thursday night, George decided to walk down the street to ask a neighbor for permission to search his backyard for Daisy. That’s when he heard a familiar bark coming from across the street. He followed the noise to the storm drain at the corner of School and Dover Streets. He spotted Daisy wandering around about five-feet below.

“He came running back to grab a flashlight and said, ‘I think I found Daisy,’” Birgit said.

“I recognized the voice,” George recalled. “I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”

Birgit called the police to see if they could help. The police were able to get in touch with the public works department, which sent an employee to come and rescue Daisy.

A brook runs through the Magers' yard, leading to an opening for a drain. It’s been there all 13 years they’ve owned Daisy, so they’re not exactly sure why she decided to explore now. They think she may have been startled by a wild animal.

“That’s always been there,” George said. “The only thing I can think of is she was possibly spooked into it.”

“That’s what we think,” Birgit said. “I mean, why else would she go down the hole?”

Daisy made her way from that opening to an even smaller one, before traveling 225 feet underground to the storm drain.

“The reason I could tell that pipe was very small is she had an abrasion underneath from when she was crawling, and it was just crusted with dirt,” George said.

The couple brought Daisy home and gave her a warm meal and a bath.

“She then found her couch and happily ever after,” George said.

The Magers said Daisy seems a little more subdued than usual, but they’re delighted to have her home.

“Everything just gratuitously came about,” George said. “What a big relief.”

Cox Media Group