Police officers came to the rescue when a frightened fox cub got stuck inside a storm drain in Kearney, Missouri.
Sgt. Joe Kantola and officer Jeffrey Garton, of Kearney Police Department, navigated a 150 foot stretch of the city's drainage system to save the animal on Wednesday night.
Video posted online shows them each descending through separate manhole covers on opposite ends of a street, before crawling through narrow pipes towards each other to trap the terrified creature in the middle.
They captured the fox inside a box, and lifted him safely back out to the street level.
Kantola said the animal, which he initially thought was a puppy when he was first called out by local residents who heard a strange noise coming from the storm drain, was "very tired" following its ordeal -- and doubts he'd have survived for much longer had he not been plucked from the 15 foot deep drain.
"He had maybe a day left," Garton added to KMBC 9. "He seemed pretty weak, scared and wet." The officers posted this image of themselves, alongside their new furry friend, to Facebook following the dramatic rescue:
After establishing that the fox's mother was not in the area, he taken back to the police station, where he warmed up enough to start making some adorable noises.
"Several people have asked what does a fox say? So...," the officers posted alongside footage of their new pal on Facebook.
The fox was later taken to a local wildlife animal rehabilitator. It's hoped he'll make a full recovery and eventually be released back into the wild.
The footage is going viral, but Kantola said it was only by chance that the rescue was caught on camera. "Officer Garton forgot that he had his (body camera) on and he was lucky to capture it."
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