A Colorado family was prepared for the worst after realizing that their beloved 13-year-old dog had suffered a terrible accident and was seriously injured after falling down a manhole.

People magazine reports that Amy Ochs of Colorado Springs, Colorado, had lost track of her dog, Blizzard, and was searching for him when she and a friend heard strange noises near the driveway. She eventually discovered Blizzard had fallen down a manhole and was in terrible pain as he had landed on a sharp point and impaled his leg.

Ochs called 911, and local firefighters and Animal Law Enforcement (ALE) rushed to the scene.

“I have seen a lot of weird situations but I’ve never seen a situation like that before,” ALE officer Sara Tucker told People magazine.

“He landed just in the right way to impale himself. It is not a small hole. We had a whole person down there. Thank God he landed the way he did.”

Veterinarian Jennifer Rainey went down into the manhole to try and save Blizzard’s life.

“It was a matter of getting down there and assessing the situation,” Dr. Rainey said.

“I gave him pain relief and then assessed the injury. He was actually hanging by muscle and skin from the left forearm. When I got him loose and lifted him off the pipe he went into shock.”

Though Blizzard’s owners, who adopted him when he was a puppy, worried that he would have to be euthanized. But Blizzard was rushed to emergency treatment after he was pulled from the manhole, and survived his ordeal.

“I feel so blessed,” Ochs told People magazine, adding that Blizzard has “stitches galore” for now.

“I didn’t realize there are such wonderful resources out there. People really do care. It was truly a great lesson.”

Watch the dramatic rescue effort here:

[Feature image: People video screenshot/Blizzard]