Spencer the Spaniel spent the night recovering at the vets after being freed from his three-day underground ordeal at a sports park in Abingdon.
The Cocker Spaniel surfaced yesterday after a major rescue effort succeeded in extracting him from the 30cm drainage pipe beneath a five-a-side pitch at Tilsley Park.
The four-year-old dog, owned by James Athey and wife Kat, got stuck after running away from his owner Kat Athey on Saturday.
Spencer was dehydrated after spending so long trapped underground and spent the night at Abivale vets in Abingdon as a precaution.
Dad-of-three Mr Athey, 32, a plumber, said the Spaniel was so dehydrated after his ordeal that he needed to be attached to a drip.
He added: "The whole family is so pleased that Spencer is back - our boys can't wait to see him back him but Spencer needed to stay at the vets overnight and he might need to stay there another night.
"He perked up a lot after he was freed but he still needed treatment so we are just waiting to see when he can come home - it could be tonight."
Mr Athey, his wife Kat, and their three boys Jacob, eight, Alex, six, and Theo, one, endured an anxious wait after Spencer went missing on Saturday.
Hi-tech equipment was used to locate him in the underground pipe abnd then Thames Water staff led the rescue mission at the sports centre run by Abingdon School.
Staff worked with firefighters and used a special camera to locate the Spaniel beneath an Astroturf five-a-side football pitch, about 100 metres away from where he entered the pipe.
Thames Water brought in diggers to lift up the tarmac and crack open the pipe to free Spencer.
Mrs Athey was first to give the dog a cuddle, before wrapping him in a towel.
Thanking Thames Water workers and Abingdon School staff for coordinating the rescue, Mrs Athey added: “We now want to get him to the vets and back home.
“We’re so glad he’s okay - thank you to everyone.
“The last few days has been completely crazy.”
Mrs Athey, 30, said: “The boys were missing Spencer - we told them he had gone camping.
“We had offers of help from far and wide - it has been phenomenal.”
Mr Athey added: “It’s amazing how many people joined in to try to help after the story was shared on Facebook.”
Mr Athey’s father David Sawyer, 62, from Chalgrove, who travelled to Tilsley Park to see Spencer freed, said: “We have been so worried since Saturday - you feel so helpless.
“It’s been an amazing effort to rescue Spencer- without it he would have perished.”
Diggers rolled into Tilsley Park yesterday morning as efforts to save the stricken dog become more intense.
About an hour after contractors started digging four-year-old Spencer could be heard whimpering and moments later he was reunited with his owners.
Friend of the family Neal Cuddy, also a plumber, said Spencer got stuck because he was ‘too broad’.
Before the pet was pulled from the pipe Abingdon School headteacher Michael Windsor said: “We are doing everything we can to help and have given permission to dig up the pitch.”