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Muddy puppy survives ‘flush’ with death

Cocker spaniel is trapped in pipe for 4 hours after boy washes him in toilet

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msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 6:52 a.m. ET June 16, 2009

LONDON - A British pup had a close call after his 4-year-old master decided to give him a bath in the toilet.

Daniel Blair was quoted as telling Britain's Daily Mirror tabloid that he tried to clean the 1-week-old cocker spaniel because he was muddy, and he flushed him down the drain.

His mother Alison was quoted as saying she believed the dog had drowned, but a drainage firm was able to locate the beleaguered animal in a pipe 20 yards away from the house using specialist camera gear.

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The animal was rescued after a four-hour ordeal.

'Real little fighter'
Blair, a mother of seven from Northolt, Middlesex, told the newspaper that she “never thought" their pet would survive. “He’s a real little fighter,” she added.

Pictures of the wet, frightened-looking puppy trapped in a pipe were posted to the firm Dyno-Rod's Web site and broadcast on British television Monday.

The company says the dog is now fine.

The boy told the Daily Mirror: “I’m so, so sorry. I won’t do it again.”

The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

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