Hunter Gasca
“Mom! There’s a dog stuck in the drain pipe!” These are the words 17-year-old Hunter Gasca blurted as he burst through the door of his mother’s staff meeting at Kimbark Elementary School in Devore, Calif.
On that particular afternoon, Hunter was walking near the school parking lot when he heard the very faint yelps and whimpers of a dog.
Living up to his name, the curious, animal-loving teen decided to investigate. He followed the intermittent weak barking and whining to a heavy steel grate in the asphalt. Hunter then got down on his hands and knees, and peered through the grate into the nearly five foot deep concrete vault.
He was horrified when he saw a white and gray muzzle straining for fresh air through only a four-inch drain hole at the bottom of the vault floor. “The dog was obviously stuck and frightened. There was nothing I could do by myself, so I ran to get help,” Hunter explained.
His mother, Anona, said, “Hunter surprised me when he came up suddenly from behind and put both hands on my shoulders to get my attention. I could sense the urgency in his voice.” With Mom’s advice, Hunter hurried to the office to contact San Bernardino County Animal Care & Control. Then he and school staff member William Myers used tools to remove the grate. The story of the dog’s predicament quickly spread and soon others –including the owners David and Maria Esparza– were at the scene offering treats to the trapped animal to comfort him and encourage him to try to crawl out of the pipe. But he wasn’t alone.
David had been searching frantically for a week for their two family dogs – Blue, a three-year-old blue tick hound, and Stitch, an eight-year-old cocker/springer spaniel mix. The thought of both large dogs being trapped for days in a 10”-12” narrow drain pipe, with the threat of rain, greatly concerned everyone. They knew the dogs were suffering and would surely suffocate in the cramped pipe. There was absolutely nothing they could do to save the dogs without the help of skilled workers who had the training, equipment, and permission to get the job done. Principal Karen Hoag worked to coordinate efforts between school and county agencies.
Seven members of the Urban Search and Rescue California Regional Task Force-6 of the San Bernardino County Fire Department worked from
8 p.m. until midnight using a jackhammer, pry bars, hand trowels, hand rakes, and a reciprocating hand saw to cut through cement, rebar, and PVC pipe to free the dogs. San Bernardino County Animal Care & Control officers, including Chief Brian Cronin, were standing by throughout the extraction process to advise the rescue team on the health and safety of the dogs.
When the dogs were finally freed, they were rushed to veterinary facilities and treated for shock and dehydration. Blue and Stitch were reunited with the Esparza family the following day.
The Esparzas are forever grateful to all those who demonstrated genuine caring: Kimbark staff members and parents, S.B. County Animal Care & Control, and San Bernardino County Fire. The family is especially thankful to Hunter for taking the time to care. David said that in today’s busy society it is a rare thing for people to take the time to help one another. Young Fabian Esparza enthusiastically proclaimed, “Because of him, my dogs are alive!” David added, “He’s my hero.”
We love to hear of instances where a young person felt compassion and turned it into action.
Hunter’s mother, teacher Anona Gasca, has participated in our Humane Education program for 15 years. She says she tries to nurture a “culture of kindness” within her home and in her class. She encourages her students to be an advocate for those who have no voice. Even when an insect comes in to her classroom, the students are shown how to gently move it to its own natural environment.
By explicitly teaching, modeling, applying, and living this culture of kindness, Anona is building students’ character. She believes that by developing empathy within her students, the values of kindness and compassion will permeate their lives and influence their decision-making for a lifetime. We couldn’t agree more.
