Dog freed after being stuck in tree trunk in Greenpark, Canterbury

Sid the dog had a lucky escape after becoming trapped inside a tree while chasing a possum.

His owner, Guy Martin, told the Herald he had to use a chain saw to cut a hole in the trunk to rescue Sid stuck in the bottom of the tree.

The trouble started when the 5-year-old long-haired Jack Russell, Sid, was chasing a possum.

Martin and a Lincoln University student were working on a block of land in Greenpark near Lincon on Monday, tidying up branches and preparing a burn pile.

"I went to get my gun and we carried on picking up sticks. Then the possum ran down the tree and Sid found the scent again.

"He was sniffing around and obviously we got busy and were loading up the tractor. He must have got in there [the tree] somehow," Martin said.

He said the pair began to load up the other dogs that were there and were preparing to leave.

"That's when I remembered Sid and it must have been about half an hour that he'd been in there."

Martin had a suspicion the dog was in the tree as that was the last place they had seen him.

"We went and turned the truck off and listened and we could hear him down at the bottom of the tree.

"I went home and got a couple of chainsaws and cut off a bit at the top of the tree and I could see down, about 3 meters down was all hollow."

Using a stick, Martin then measured the area he would need to cut into a square shape to free Sid.

"The reason I cut where I did was because I knew Sid was below it so he jumped up and out. There was a bit of a method to my madness.

"I was slightly concerned but I knew he wouldn't be silly enough to jump up at the chainsaw. It was a bit of a leap of faith but he proved me right."

Sid the dog was freed after becoming trapped in a tree in Greenpark, Canterbury. Photo / Guy Martin

Martin managed to shoot the possum too, which he said Sid was happy about.

The video was posted on a friend's Facebook page and drew some attention.

"A few people are questioning online whether it actually happened and it absolutely did."

Sid is also currently on the look-out for a female companion.

"Before this incident, we had a long list of people wanting pups, I have a feeling it may grow after this."