DOG SURVIVES 3-HOUR ORDEAL AT WELL BOTTOM.

Byline: Stacy Finz Daily News Staff Writer

It was pure doggedness that saved a 120-pound Newfoundland pooch from drowning in a 150-foot well Monday.

For nearly three hours, the pure-bred dog named Bear tried to claw his way 10 to 15 feet out of the water-filled well, which he fell into when the wooden cover gave way. And when he wasn't clawing, the 2- to 4-year-old dog was clinging to a ledge or treading water.

Then, Sondra Scott heard the canine's cries.

``I heard a distress sound,'' explained Scott, who lives on the property where the well is located on Decker Canyon Road. ``I followed the noise to the well, looked down, and there he was.''

Scott called for help, and before she knew it two Los Angeles County fire trucks, a search and rescue team and animal control officers were on the scene. The crew, along with several neighbors, spent the next hour rescuing Bear.

``It wasn't pretty,'' said Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Anthony Penn. ``He was howling and yapping. It was bone-chilling.''

And it was no dog day afternoon. The persistent rescuers struggled in the rain.

First they hooked a 12-foot ladder to the side of the well and sent animal control Officer Tim March down in a harness. He put a noose around the hefty dog's neck, and firefighters hoisted Bear up with a lot of muscle and the mechanical advantage of a pulley.

``It sounds sick,'' Penn said. ``But dogs have strong necks.''

Bear was being kept overnight at the Malibu Veterinary Clinic, where he was in stable condition with some worn pads on his paws. Officials there were trying to contact the dog's owner.

Scott said the canine wandered onto her property from a nearby neighbor's house, and she believes he walked on the well's rotted wood covering, which splintered under the Newfoundland's weight.

She said, ``The message of this story is that dogs can't roam free. It's very dangerous for them.''