A Papamoa man thought his dog was going to drown after falling into a storm water drain that had its cover removed.
John Massey was walking his 10-year-old cavalier King Charles spaniel Lauren along the storm water reserve at the back of his Papamoa home on Tuesday when the small dog ran ahead and fell down an open man hole.
"I turned the corner and there was no sign of her, then I saw the access cover over the pipe had been moved. My heart just stopped. I knew she was in it. She would have jumped up without being able to see the top and must have tumbled 8 to 10 feet into the water."
Mr Massey called the fire brigade for assistance.
"She was swimming for her life, she couldn't stand up in it, she must have been completely terrified. I thought I would have to watch her drown.
"All of a sudden I couldn't hear her, I looked down and her muzzle was just above the water. Her eyes were under."
When the fire brigade arrived, a firefighter named Sam climbed down the pipe and was able to get Lauren out.
"If the cover hadn't been stolen, none of this would have happened and I wouldn't have nearly lost Lauren. I would hate to have thought what would have happened if that was a toddler."
Tauranga City Council communications officer Marcel Currin said when a storm water guard went missing, the council's priority level was to have it replaced within an hour of it being reported.