The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

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

Devon Bolger
By Devon Bolger
Digital producer, Christchurch, NZ Herald·NZ Herald·
17 May, 2021 10:45 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Sid the dog is freed after becoming stuck in a tree. Video / Guy Martin

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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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.

Discover more

New Zealand

Watch: Incredible rescue as dog gets stuck 13m down Te Mata Peak cliff

05 Jun 12:51 AM
New Zealand

Man's best friend: Owner stuck in river after following dog into water

12 Nov 01:36 AM
New Zealand

30m down: Dog freed after four-hour mine shaft ordeal

29 Mar 07:53 PM

"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
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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Vege tips: Winter, time for onions and strawberries

21 Jun 05:00 PM
The Country

The ABCs of wool in 1934

21 Jun 05:00 PM
The Country

Hill farming and Arabian horse breeding in Taumarunui

21 Jun 05:00 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Vege tips: Winter, time for onions and strawberries

Vege tips: Winter, time for onions and strawberries

21 Jun 05:00 PM

OPINION: Kem Ormond is busy with onion seed trays & preparing the ground for strawberries.

The ABCs of wool in 1934

The ABCs of wool in 1934

21 Jun 05:00 PM
Why NZ needs its own Clarkson's Farm

Why NZ needs its own Clarkson's Farm

21 Jun 05:00 PM
Hill farming and Arabian horse breeding in Taumarunui

Hill farming and Arabian horse breeding in Taumarunui

21 Jun 05:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP