Michael Melosky arrived home from work March 6 to find his 4-year-old Yorkshire terrier had soiled herself in her crate.

The little 5-pound dog, Bella, has a sensitive digestive system and must have had a bad reaction to something she had eaten, he told The Press.

Melosky took Bella, “very loved by my family,” to the shower to bathe her.

Somehow, one of her paws slipped into the 4-inch shower drain and became lodged there.

The Barrington Drive resident attended the March 15 Northampton Borough Council meeting to tell his story.

Melosky removed the drain from the shower stall using a cordless drill, but Bella’s paw was still stuck. He tried to use tin snips to cut the stainless steel drain, with no success.

By now, Bella’s paw was bleeding.

“The dog was in serious pain and is very loved by my family,” Melosky said.

His wife arrived and suggested he contact the fire department for help.

Melosky called Northampton Fire Marshal Bobby Solderich.

“We might have something to help you out with,” Solderich told him.

He took the dog to the fire department, where Solderich and Assistant Fire Chief Josh Abraham addressed the problem “like it was no big deal to them,” Melosky said. “I held the dog. They brought the tool out, they cut it around the floor drain. Within two minutes, it was gone. It had been a 40-minute struggle for me at home.”

Melosky attended the council meeting to express his appreciation for the professionalism of the fire department.

“I would like to make a generous donation to the fire department on behalf of my family,” he said, presenting an envelope to fire department representatives. “I am very grateful that they helped me out.”

During the course of the meeting, a number of council members praised the fire department as among the best in the Lehigh Valley.

“We have, probably pound for pound, one of, if not the best group of emergency services people in this Valley,” Councilman Anthony Lopsonzski Sr. said. “Kudos for your endeavors to help people. You helped a family that was suffering. Pet owners know a pet is part of the family. It’s nothing less than another child with four legs.”