It’s a firefighter’s duty to help everyone in their community, whether they’re human or animal. While they are stereotypically said to “save cats from trees,” sometimes the animal is many times larger — and stuck in a much trickier spot.
That was the case for one team of New Orleans firefighters, who came to the rescue of a horse who was stuck in a sinkhole.
The firefighters were called to Leake & Broadway St. on February 5, to save the poor stuck horse.
Photos show the firefighters using shovels to carefully dig the horse out.
Eventually, the firefighters are able to dig the horse out of the sinkhole:
Another photo shows the rescue team tending to the horse, who is apparently exhausted after the ordeal and lies on the ground:
Further details about the horse are currently unknown. The fire department has been contacted for information about the status of the horse.
But one firefighter replied to a concerned comment under the department’s Facebook post, saying the horse was doing “good so far.”
Sinkholes — pits in the ground caused by undrained ground water — can be a major safety risk for both humans and animals.
Even an animal as big as a horse can get helplessly trapped in a sinkhole, and it can be life-threatening: last month, a horse in Alabama reportedly died in a sinkhole. “15,000 pounds and you can barely see him in it. This was a big big horse. So this a big hole,” the horse’s owner told WAFF.
Thankfully, rescuers can always be counted on to pull an animal out of a sinkhole.
And firefighters can also be counted to help a horse back on its feet: just last month, a fire crew in Beaver County, Pennsylvania went viral after helping an elderly horse out of the mud.
Thankfully, that horse — Leggs — is reportedly doing well after the fall.
“If they wouldn’t have come, we would have lost him because he wouldn’t have made it. I can’t thank them enough,” owner Emily Lesko told KDKA.
Thank you to these firefighters for saving this horse from a sinkhole! You’re true heroes. We hope this horse is doing well now.
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