Playful pooch hits all the right buttons

FRANKLIN – A resident who called 911 Thursday morning but did not need help is not being charged but may wind up in the doghouse, according to police.

Hancock County Deputy Sheriff Shane Campbell said an emergency operator answered a 911 call around 6:20 a.m. from a home on Route 182, but no one was on the line. All the dispatcher could hear in the background was a shuffling noise as if someone was moving about, he said.

Campbell said he and two emergency medical technicians went to the house to investigate, but the owners weren’t there. What they found instead was a husky puppy and a chewed-up cordless phone on the floor.

Thursday morning apparently was the first time the owners had left the dog at home by itself, Campbell said.

“He didn’t need any help,” the deputy said of the pooch. “He hit the right numbers, though.”