George Jessup was on duty, driving his plumbing company's truck. But when he saw a duck sitting on a storm drain on a busy road in Shaler, he didn't think twice about stopping.

"The duck wouldn't move, and it was in a dangerous position on Anderson Road. It piqued my curiosity," Mr. Jessup said.

When he approached the duck he heard "peep peep peeping" and realized there were ducklings in the storm drain. He just had to help.

Mr. Jessup, 49, of Millvale, got busy on his cell phone. His first call was to his boss, Bob Beall, franchise owner of Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Pittsburgh. He told him to go ahead and help the ducklings, "and he said he'd cover me" if customers called with plumbing emergencies, Mr. Jessup said.

When he couldn't budge the heavy grate, he called Shaler police and volunteer firefighters. The ducklings "were flipping out," he said, and the mother duck, a mallard, was agitated.

"The firemen took the grate off. It must have weighed 300 pounds," Mr. Jessup said. "Then a police officer reached in and picked up the ducklings. There were six or seven. They were the cutest things you ever saw -- brownish with some white and yellow.

To make sure they got every duckling, Mr. Jessup sent Mr. Rooter's video inspection camera down the pipe. There were no more.

"It was just inspiring how everyone pitched in," he said.

After their three-hour ordeal, mamma and her ducklings "just waddled off," he said.

Mr. Beall got one emergency call while Mr. Jessup was rescuing ducklings; he called another plumber in on his day off.

"Mr. Rooter practices courtesy as a normal part of doing business," he deadpanned.

Did you hear about the July 4 "hot dogs" rescue? It was another case of volunteers and paid professionals going the extra mile to rescue animals.

Two husky-mix dogs were trapped and terrified on a 75-foot hillside in Avalon. The Post-Gazette reported the rescue July 4 on its Web site and in the July 5 newspaper. By the way, the byline on those stories was Michael A. Fuoco, who happens to be my husband.

Here's the follow-up:

"Oscar and Blacky will be sleeping in their own beds tonight," said a July 5 e-mail from Lois Cummins, animal control officer for Avalon and other north suburban communities. The dogs got loose while their owner was moving into a new house, a half block away from the Spencer & Friends animal rescue organization, which Ms. Cummins operates.

Ms. Cummins is the paid "dog catcher" for several communities. When no one claims dogs that she catches, she finds new homes for them through the nonprofit rescue organization she's been operating for 16 years. In recent years, she and volunteers average about six adoptions per year.

Here's her account of the rescue:

After receiving a call about two dogs lying on Ohio River Boulevard, she looked but couldn't find them. Volunteer Lisa Elliott saw them and tried to get them off the road, but they ran away from her.

Avalon police officer Bob Espy received a report that the dogs had gone over the embankment toward the Ohio River, so he picked up the search. He saw one on a ledge and the other above.

"They were hot, just terrified and not moving," Ms. Cummins said.

Avalon assistant fire chief Chuck Berie coordinated the rescue by Avalon and Bellevue firefighters.

Avalon police officers Matt McDaniel and Scott George were on a river-rescue training session. From the river, they gave firefighters the dogs' exact location. Multiple police officers and firefighters rappelled down the poison ivy-infested hillside, including Bellevue assistant fire chief Randy Dailey and Bellevue firefighters Jack Davin and Jerry Lundy. It took about two hours to pull the dogs to safety.

Volunteer Dolly Archey, a veterinary technician, examined the dogs and declared them no worse for their ordeal. Ms. Cummins tracked down the owner within 24 hours.