JULY 18, 2015 UPDATE: Happy news! Jessica Arnold, the woman who had been feeding Jimma and took her to the fire station, has become the former stray’s official dog mom. “Jimma will become a part of her family permanently,” the Indianapolis Fire Dept. wrote in a comment on its Facebook page today.
Jimma, a stray 1-year-old Pit Bull mix familiar to residents of an Indianapolis neighborhood, somehow got into a sticky situation today.
An unidentified woman who regularly feeds Jimma found her this afternoon with her head stuck in the rim of a tire that had been on a neighbor’s property. So the woman put Jimma in her car and drove her to the closest fire station.
“The dog who appeared to be stable was visibly shaken but not confrontational,” the Indianapolis Fire Dept. wrote on its Facebook page late this afternoon.
Using liquid soap and then oil, the firefighters spent 10 minutes trying to slide the rim off Jimma’s head, but the tire wouldn’t budge. They phoned another crew and requested extrication tools.
Removing the tire and rim would require large, loud tools, and the crews didn’t want to frighten or injure Jimma in the process.
They figured out a plan. The first step was to remove the tire.
“Several small tools normally used in vehicle extrication were used but ineffective due to the proximity of the dog’s head, noise, vibration and the rim material,” the fire department wrote.
As firefighters worked to remove the tire, others soothed Jimma by gently patting her and speaking to her calmly.
“Several times throughout the process, the dog turned skittish and firefighters had to allow the dog a minute to calm down before continuing,” the fire department wrote.
At last, over an hour later, the firefighters were able to cut through the rim using a tool normally used to cut brake pedals in cars. They then used spreaders to create a wider opening.
According to the Indianapolis Fire Dept., Jimma’s airway was never compromised and she appeared to be okay after her ordeal.
“A very happy Jimma was sent home with the resident,” the fire department wrote.
Here’s hoping the resident becomes Jimma’s permanent dog mom, or one of those hero firefighters adopts her, or Jimma’s story goes viral and she finds a forever home soon.
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