LANZHOU, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- A stray dog was rescued on Friday after it was trapped in a well in northwest China's Gansu Province for at least nine days.

The seven-month-old dog was heard barking in the well in a residential district in Lanzhou, the provincial capital, on Jan. 18. Nobody knew when or how it fell into the well.

Residents in the district fed the dog while it was trapped. Staff from an animal welfare organization and professional rescue workers managed to enter the well to rescue it.

"The well has many electricity lines underneath, and we could not find the dog after careful examination," said Tan Xiangdong, head of the animal welfare organization. "The dog may have panicked and hidden in the dark."

On Friday, the rescuers installed a net on a ladder. They put the ladder into the well and the dog finally climbed out of the well via the ladder.

"I was very happy to get the stray dog out. Our rescue efforts paid off," said a rescue worker who did not give his name.