Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Meet Maizi – the deaf 14-year-old Dunfermline spaniel who spent 9 hours stuck in a sewer

A large rescue operation was launched to save the pooch on Wednesday night.

Cocker spaniel Maizi, from Dunfermline. Image: Margaret Cumming
Cocker spaniel Maizi, from Dunfermline. Image: Margaret Cumming

A deaf cocker spaniel is said to be in “good spirits” after a nine-hour ordeal stuck in a Dunfermline sewer.

Maizi became trapped in the underground pipe while walking in Pittencrieff Park on Tuesday evening.

Rescue teams spent about eight hours at the scene trying to free her.

The 14-year-old dog was on a “routine” walk with her owners Gary and Margaret Cumming when she disappeared at around 4pm.

The couple spent an hour searching for Maizi with no luck.

However, Gary was eventually able to locate her after hearing the bells on her collar.

He discovered that Maizi had fallen down banking and through an uncovered sewer opening.

This left her stuck on a ledge and the emergency services were called at around 5pm.

Dunfermline dog owners ‘overwhelmed’ after multi-agency sewer rescue

Five crews of firefighters, the Mines Rescue Service and Fife Council worked away for hours to free Maizi.

A mini excavator digger and a Scottish Fire and Rescue rope team also formed part of the rescue efforts.

Margaret told The Courier: “We are so grateful to the emergency services, the local community and everyone who worked so hard to get Maizi out safely.

Maizi is recovering. Image: Margaret Cumming

“It was such a relief to see the rescuers carry her out and hand her over to us, alive, after over eight hours trapped.

“Maizi has always been full of life and we’re so thankful to have her back safe and sound.

“We were massively overwhelmed by the dedication of all the rescue teams to try and save our girl.

“The support has been first class and the community spirit is something to be proud of and admired.”

Rescue teams at Pittencrieff Park to help the dog in the sewer. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson

After being rescued, Maizi was taken to an emergency vet in Kirkcaldy for a full check-up.

It is hoped that she will be discharged later on Wednesday.

Margaret added that Maizi is in “good spirits”.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed Maizi had been saved by one of the other agencies in attendance.

A spokesperson said: “We were made aware that the dog had been rescued at 12.43am.

“Two appliances and the rope rescue team from Lochgelly remained on the scene until it was rescued.”

Conversation