They say a dog is a man’s best friend, but on Wednesday it was a bunch of men and women who were a dog’s heroes.

The Claypool Police Department, along with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office and Sidney Fire Department, responded to a dog – Oden – that had his head stuck in a hole Wednesday in the 3500 block of East CR 900S.

Oden had been missing for 12 hours and his family found him with his head stuck in a small hole on top of a large mower deck, according to the Claypool Police Department’s Facebook page.

Oden had been stuck so long that his head swelled to the point that it was impossible for him to free himself. Being part pit bull and part rottweiler, his head is naturally already good-sized.

In a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon, Claypool Town Marshal Ben Sanders said the family searched for hours for the dog on their 80-acre property.

Kaden Krull, one of Oden’s owners, said Oden is 6 years old. He went missing around 8:30 or 9 p.m. Tuesday. He does bark, but it’s rare for him to do so.

“If he would have made a sound, they probably would have heard him,” Kaden said.

Another one of the family’s dogs eventually led them to Oden on the west side of the property behind some trees, Sanders said. Kaden said it was their black labrador, Kolby, that found Oden.

After the family tried to get Oden out of the hole and couldn’t, Douglas Krull called central dispatch for help. The call initially went to the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, but Sanders, being nearby already, was first on the scene.

Sanders said all they knew initially was that Oden’s head was stuck in a hole, but they didn’t know what kind of hole.

After the owner said he didn’t care about the mower, he just wanted to save his dog, the Sidney Fire Department was requested by officers on the scene for their help in trying to extricate Oden. Sidney Fire arrived and wasted no time in getting things set up and ultimately freeing Oden, the Claypool Police Department Facebook page said.

Sidney Fire Chief Kevin Wagoner said they jacked the mower up and put cribbing underneath it. One of the guys got underneath the mower to hold Oden’s head and keep him out of the way of the cutting.

“It was just a matter of cutting and bending to get the dog’s head out,” Wagoner said.

The tools heated up the mower, Sanders said, so water was poured on it to keep it cool and a mixture of Dawn detergent soap was used to help make it easier to get Oden’s head out of the hole.

Once Oden was free, he began to walk around to the officers and firefighters to let them pet him as if to say thanks. Sanders said Oden didn’t bark or growl at all.

Wagoner said Oden seemed to be OK and he was loaded up in the back of a vehicle and taken away.

“I’m assuming he’ll be OK,” Wagoner said.