Zeke rests after five days underground

ST. PARIS, Ohio (WDTN ) - Zeke is now 10 pounds lighter and exhausted, but he's been in good spirits. It was Wednesday when the German Shepherd mix, who's also a therapy dog, was rescued after being trapped for five days in a 15-inch drain pipe four feet underground.

Black Friday marked the beginning of a dark weekend for Sarah Story and her dog when Zeke darted into that tunnel.

Sarah said they tried in vain to lure him out, "tapping and yelling Zeke, Zeke, here Zeke."

But Zeke kept on going deeper into the pipe. For five days he kept moving through the tunnel, hundreds of feet away from the safety of home.

"I knew realistically there wasn't a chance for him," Sarah admits. "But without a body you couldn't give up completely."

The search began to take on a life of its own when Canine Companions started an e-mail chain asking the community for help. WYSO radio reporter Cynthia Sperberg-Hart got the assignment.

She said "It just really touched my heart to think the search was called off yesterday [Monday] and the dog was still stuck in a pipe."

Many phone calls later, Sperberg-Hart found a Reynoldsburg utilities company, Dreier & Maller, who did sewer line investigations for cities. And they had just what was needed - a robotic camera that could travel up to 1300 feet inside the drain pipe. And owner Steve Maller was eager to help.

"I just wanted to come and get this dog out. He's somewhere in here we'll try to find him."

Four hours after Maller arrived on the scene with his camera, they saw the unbelievable sight of a set of eyes blinking in the dark. And then Zeke, just sitting there waiting.

"I was thrilled to see him," said Sarah. "I ran to him and he was all hey, you're here, finally."

Dreier & Maller would typically charge $150 an hour for their service. But on this cold December night Maller said the sight of Zeke and Sarah together was worth the cost when he said to Sarah. "Merry Christmas."