ohmidog!

A contractor fell into a silo of dog food Monday in Sanford, N.C., and it took rescue crews several hours to get him out.

The man, whose name was not released, accidentally stepped on a lid and fell 40 feet through a chute at an H.J. Baker & Brothers plant.

After falling, his leg got caught in an auger-like device, which complicated the rescue, WRAL in Raleigh reported.

Fire Chief Wayne Barber said the man was hospitalized in Raleigh, and treated for dehydration, but is expected to be fine.

He spent several hours up to his waist in dog food in the silo, which was about a third of the way full.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

(Photo: WRAL)

The wolfish-looking creature who lurked for months in Pennypack Park has been caught, and it is indeed Levi, a Malamute-wolf mix that escaped when his Florida owner was visiting Philadelphia earlier this year.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission said the wolf-dog hybrid was captured using hot dogs and foothold traps, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The animal is believed to be a wolf-Alaskan malamute mix that was purchased as a pet in Florida and escaped when his owners were visiting in March.

The wolf-dog attacked no one during that time.

About a week ago, Game Commission officials began trying to catch the canine at the park in Northeast Philadelphia park, using traps, nets, snare poles, sedative-laced hot dogs and tranquilizing darts.

On Monday night, wildlife agents set foothold traps, one of which went off around 3:15 a.m. today. They followed the dog’s yelps. The dog was briefly aggressive as it was being put in a cage, said Jerry Czech, of the game commission, but he soon calmed down.

“He laid there, unfazed, did not growl, kick, spit, anything,” Czech said.

The  wolf hybrid was taken to the Wolf Sanctuary near Lititz in Lancaster County, a 22-acre woodland refuge for wolves and wolf-hybrids. Wolf-dog hybrids are legal in Pennsylvania only with a special permit.

He believes the animal is Levi, whose owner, Kasey Lyons, searched for him at the park after seeing reports about the mystery dog on Philly.com.

Lyons bought the dog for his then-fiancee for Valentine’s Day. While visiting from Florida, they let the animal off leash in the park and lost him.

Lyons, who has since broken up with his girlfriend and moved back to Philadelphia, could be fined for transporting and possessing a wolf-hybrid without a permit, but Czech said his cooperation with officials will be taken into account.

(Photo: Alejandro A. Alvarez / Philadelphia Inquirer)

A Jack Russell terrier headed for Maine got lost in New Jersey, spent 10 days wandering in the woods, was found and returned to North Carolina, and is now destined to go back to New Jersey.

It’s a roundabout route to a forever home, but, for five-year-old Piper, it’s a far better fate than that awaiting her had she remained in the North Carolina shelter she was initially pulled from as her euthanasia date approached.

Early in May, Joy Frannicola of Smithfield, N.C. , the leader of a rescue group called Ruf Creek Ranch, arranged to have Pilots N Paws take Piper and several other dogs to a no-kill shelter in Maine.

The pilots — among those donate their time to fly dogs facing euthanasia to friendlier locations — made a stop in New Jersey and were taking Piper for a walk when she got frightened by the noise from a nearby drag strip and, with her leash still attached, ran off, the Raleigh News and Observer reported.

She escaped through a hole in the airport’s fence and ran into the woods. Pilots and local residents searched, and they were joined by volunteers from A New Leash on Life, another North Carolina rescue group involved in transporting Piper and the other dogs to a place they might more likely be adopted.

After 10 days, a woman named Cyndi Albujar who lives near the woods spotted Piper while walking her own dog. She placed cat food in a trap. Piper went for it.

A few days later, Piper was on a plane returning to A New Leash on Life, based in Wake Forest, N.C.

But she hasn’t been listed for adoption.

That’s because Albujar, who took a liking to Piper, wants her back.

So, one day soon, Piper will be flying back to New Jersey again — this time for good.

(Photo:  Cyndi Albujar (left), with Danella Anderson of A New Leash on Life, volunteer pilot Terry Friedman and Piper; courtesy of Ruf Creek Ranch)

A veterinarian says a dog trapped in a car on a 90-degree day in eastern Pennsylvania honked the horn until he was rescued.

Nancy Soares said the 11-year-old chocolate Labrador — named Max — was brought to the Macungie Animal Hospital last month after he had been in the car for about an hour.

She said Max’s owner, Donna Gardner, of Upper Macungie Township, had gone shopping, returned home, unloaded her packages, but forgot that Max was still in the car. The owner later heard the horn honking, checked outside, then went back in. When she heard the horn honking again, she went outside and saw Max sitting in the driver’s seat, WFMZ reported.

Soares said the owner immediately gave Max cold water to drink and wet him down with towels before rushing him to the clinic, where — though he was warm and panting heavily — he was determined to have suffered no lasting injuries.

A small dog got wedged in a mechanized reclining chair at an assisted living facility in suburban Chicago and had to be freed by firefighters.

Naperville firefighters used a saw to cut the chair apart, and reported the dog, who belongs to a resident, didn’t appear to have been harmed – either by the chair or the rescue.

Firefighters were called to the Sunrise of Naperville assisted living center Thursday night, the Daily Herald reported.  Firefighter/Paramedic Scott Bolda said the dog didn’t appear to be in pain when firefighters arrived on scene. A nurse’s aide was relieving some of the pressure from the chair to help the dog breathe, he said.

Bolda said the chair’s electrical controls stopped working when the dog became wedged, so the only option left was to saw the chair apart.

“It took about five minutes to get him free,” Bolda said. “We’ve never had to rescue a dog like that before.”

Two dogs trapped inside a Colorado mine shaft since Monday managed to escape on their own.

Christy Huffman told KRDO that her border collie and Chihuahua escaped from her home Monday, along with a third dog who is still missing.

The two who ended up in the mine pit at the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine in Teller County got out and are now in the care of the local animal control office.

Rescue crews had been trying to reach the animals since Tuesday, and Animal control officers Wednesday tried coaxing the dogs out of the mine shaft with food, treats and water, but had no success.

CC&V Gold Mine spokesperson Jane Mannon says the dogs were able to make their way out of the mine on their own.

Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Mikel Baker said officials were worried about  sending a search-and-rescue team down the 500-foot Ironclad Mine because the ground is unstable.

The dogs’ owners have been cited for letting their dogs run loose.

A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the identity of the owner of the severely matted Pekingese who was found abandoned on a  roadside in Waltham, Mass.

City police and animal control are still searching for the owner of the male dog, estimated to be between 9 and 12 years old.

The dog had been nicknamed Mattie by veterinarian Susan Rosenblatt, who treated him at Kindness Animal Hospital. He died a few days after he was brought in.

The dog was extremely emaciated, suffering from pneumonia and his muscles had atrophied from years of neglect, the Daily News Tribune reported

Anyone with information about the dog is asked to contact Kindness Animal Hospital at 781-893-2800 or email kindnessah@gmail.com.

Veterinarians in Boston say a neglected and abandoned Pekingese died from being trapped in his own fur.

The dog was found in Waltham on March 6, unable to move or walk because of severe matting of his fur, WCVB-TV reported. He was taken to Kindness Animal Hospital, but could not be saved and died a few days later.

“This is probably one of the most extreme cases of neglect we’ve encountered in our practice,” said Susan Rosenblatt, chief of staff at Kindness. “We’re concerned that there may be other animals in the same household that are being similarly neglected.”

The Pekingese was between 9 and 12-years-old, tan and blind in his right eye. The left eye had been surgically removed. His fur had become so completely matted around its body that the dog was trapped within itself, veterinarians said.

The dog’s teeth were rotten and his muscles had atrophied because he was unable to move for so long. His nails had grown in a complete circle because they had not been cut in years, the vets said, and he had pneumonia.

The veterinary hospital staff and other animal welfare advocates asked for the public’s help to find the dog’s owners. Anyone with information can contact Kindness Animal Hospital at 718-893-2800 or e-mail kindnessah@gmail.com.