108-pound dog rescued after falling into manhole in Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A dog is OK after falling headfirst into a manhole on Detroit's west side.

Yusef Shakur was walking his Cane Corso puppy named Simba in a field near Northwestern High School.

"He was sniffing then doop, right in," Shakur said.

The 108-pound dog fell into an uncovered manhole.

"I haven’t felt that scared and helpless because I don’t know what’s down there," Shakur said.

Shakur called 911, who referred him to animal control but it was after hours. After three more calls to 911 and a bit of confusion, Detroit firefighters showed up to rescue the pup.

Related: Detroit rescues say animal control has been asking residents to watch stray dogs

"Somebody climbed down, wrapped the vest around, and used a tripod and they collectively pulled him out," Shakur said.

The city is now looking into why animal control wasn't alerted about what happened.

"There is a 24-hour animal control number," said DFD Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell. "Dispatch can reach them 24 hours a day."

In the meantime, Shakur is just thankful a child didn't fall into the hole and that his best friend Simba is going to be OK.

"It exposed the failures in the system," he said. "Especially in this area."

The manhole Simba fell in is now closed, and after being alerted that another was open, the city closed that one, too.