Dog rescued after being 'stuck in the muck' of collapsed cesspool in Shirley

First responders pulled a small dog to safety Friday morning after it fell several feet into a collapsed cesspool, Suffolk police said.

The dog fell down the hole in the backyard of his Concord Road home in Shirley around 7:15 a.m., the Suffolk County Police Department said in a social media post.

"The dog wasn't submerged, just stuck in muck," a Suffolk police spokesperson told Newsday via email.

Seventh Precinct officers Anthony Cardinale and John Phalen responded to the scene. The department’s social media post included video footage both officers’ body-worn cameras recorded during the rescue. The officers, along with members of the Mastic Fire Department, laid a ladder across the hole to begin the rescue operation.

"Sorry buddy, this might hurt a little bit," one of the officers said in the video as he secured a catch pole around the dog. Seconds later, the officer pulled the animal vertically out of the sunken cesspool. A Mastic firefighter helped the officer guide the dog toward solid ground.

"He’s going to need a bath," the officer said after the dog was safe.

The other police officer wrapped the dog, which had black fur, in what appeared to be a towel with the design of the American Flag.

"Woah, it's OK my man," that officer said as he dried the dog. "It’s OK, buddy."

Information on the dog's owner, name, age, gender and breed were not immediately available.

In the social media post, the department said: "Aside from being shaken up and in desperate need of a bath, the dog was OK and happy to be returned to its human parent."