No one knew how he had gotten on the roof, but onlookers knew they had to get him off.

In February, residents of an Austin apartment complex spotted a tiny brown puppy on the dilapidated roof of a carport. One person called Austin Animal Center, a municipal shelter in Austin, Texas, to ask for help in rescuing the dog.

Staci Figueroa, an animal protection officer from Austin Animal Center, arrived at the scene with her colleague, Erica Cerza. The resident guided them down an outdoor hallway of the apartment complex, where they could catch a glimpse of the pug puppy over a railing.

“We are not totally sure how the pug got there, but we suspect that he walked down the hallway and through the railing onto the roof,” Figueroa told The Dodo in an email. “At that point, he ventured to the right and then was unable to figure out how to get back.”

While the puppy didn’t seem hurt or frightened, Figueroa knew she had to urgently remove him from the roof. Right next to where the puppy was lying, there was a gaping hole in the metal. If the puppy fell through that, it might be next to impossible to rescue him.

Figueroa and Cerza quickly got to work.

Perpendicular to the carport roof was a wooden fence. The fence, they decided, was their gateway to rescuing the dog.

“We removed one of the pickets of the fence with a screwdriver that we obtained from a resident at the property,” Figueroa said. “Due to the tightness of the screws, we required the help of the resident’s family member to get the picket completely off.”

Once the picket was gone, Cerza simply reached through the hole in the fence and scooped up the dog.

“He was very calm and just hung out in Cerza’s arms,” Figueroa said. “As he relaxed, he started to become more playful and started to grab her hair and play with her hand.”

“We were stoked to be able to get him easily,” Figueroa added.

After rescuing the puppy, the officers patched up the fence. Then they contacted the apartment complex’s management team, asking them to email residents to see if someone had lost a puppy. When no one came forward for the the little pug, he was put up for adoption.

The puppy also got a name — Wicket.

“The pup reminded us of the Ewoks from Star Wars,” said Figueroa in reference to the dog’s name, which was the also the name of a character from Star Wars.

Within a just a few days, Wicket had found his forever family. And Figueroa and the team at Austin Animal Center couldn’t be happier for him.

“He is living his best life with his new family,” Figueroa said.

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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)