There’s looking after your furry friend—and then there’s perhaps going overboard. A man in Bristol, Connecticut, found himself in a tight spot—literally—after trying to rescue his dog from a locked bathroom at a city park. He ended up stuck inside the chimney of a public building and had to be rescued by firefighters. Going overboard leads to being stuck in a chimney for a dog.
The incident happened at Rockwell Park, inside a building known as Mrs. Rockwell’s Pavilion. The restrooms in the building are now on an automatic timer, with doors that lock at 10 p.m. every night. The man’s dog somehow got locked inside after the doors shut for the night.
Stuck in chimney for a dog—Why not call for help?
Instead of calling police or park officials, the man decided to take matters into his own hands. He climbed onto the roof and attempted to get inside the building by sliding down the chimney. He got stuck near the chimney flue, the area where smoke normally vents from a fireplace or furnace.
On Sunday morning, park employees noticed something was wrong and called police, believing a break-in was happening. Firefighters were called in and had to dismantle parts of the chimney and the building to safely pull the man out. The damage from the rescue was estimated to be between $5,000 and $10,000.
Happily, the man wasn’t hurt—and neither was the dog. But the man was arrested and is now facing charges of burglary, trespassing, and criminal mischief. He was released on bond and is scheduled to appear in court on July 7.
“A crazy scenario”
Erica Benoit, who works with Bristol’s Parks, Recreation, Youth and Community Services, said the whole thing could have been avoided. “It is a bit of a crazy scenario,” she said. “If he had just contacted police in the first place, we might have been able to avoid the situation.” Benoit was quoted in a story by the AP News.
Benoit also explained that while the bathroom doors do lock automatically at night, they can still be opened from the inside—something the man may not have known. Obviously the dog didn’t know it. City staff and emergency services are now reviewing the situation to help prevent anything like this from happening again. No one ever should be stuck in a chimney for a dog.
As for the dog, officials said it appeared completely fine after the unusual overnight ordeal. No word on whether the water level in the toilet bowl was down to quench thirst.
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RVT1215b
There is intelligence and there is wisdom. A person can be reasonably intelligent but lack the wisdom of whether or not to proceed with a dreamed-up action. I believe the guy involved in the chimney caper was smart enough to think of it but was devoid of the wisdom that would have suggested other alternatives.
Thank you, Russ and Tina for relating this remarkable set of events. Have a great day and safe travels!
My question is why was the dog in the bathroom in the first place. And why alone? I think the owner has some explaining to do.
So many questions……
This is what happens when we have completely unattended parks, with the only phone number to call in an emergency a closed locked city office, an absent host, or none at all. Every park should have a real caretaker who gets paid extra for off-hours calls. But it’s so much easier to just leave the visitors to their own devices, and tell them to call 911.
The trapped guy’s dog likely has a higher IQ.