A man and his donkeys are safe and happy thanks to some helpful volunteer firefighters.
In a social media post, the Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department in Glasgow, Virginia, said the assistance of firefighters was requested by local animal control and other first responders after a pregnant donkey named Emma got stuck in the mud “at the edge of an old pond.”
In the post, which included photos, the fire department said the donkey was not able to move while it was stuck in the mud.
Billy Potter, the owner of the donkeys, told WSLS he first came across the donkey stuck in the mud and knew he was going to need some help.
“When I was going up through here, a little donkey was leaning across the road and she was crying and carrying on,” Potter said, adding that he blew his horn a few times, so he got out of his vehicle, started trying to comfort the animal and look around for the donkey’s mother.
“I knew I couldn’t get her out by myself, so I started calling people,” he said.
Firefighter Ethan Hill remembers hearing the call go out that a donkey needed assistance. “I was like, all right, we have a donkey in a pond, what’s the first thing we need to do? We got there and it was like, never had an incident like this before,” Hill said.
Potter was grateful when first responders arrived on scene.
“When they got here, it was like (a) chain reaction and they showed up with backboards, ropes, straps and everything and the one guy stood there and made sure he took the place of holding her head up so she didn’t drown,” Potter said.
Fire Chief John Hill said the firefighters also had to consider the foal Emma was carrying.
“At the end of the day Emma was pregnant as well. We had to, had to worry about two lives there instead of one and it made the, made the rescue a little tricky,” the chief said.
In its social media post, Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department said crews at the scene “were able to maneuver straps under Emma and secured them in a means to not cause harm to her or her little one.”
Firefighters used a device known as a mechanical advantage system to pull, and ultimately free, Emma from the mud, according to the post.
“We actually pulled the donkey out of the pond and she stood up and actually took off, which that was a great relief in (Potter’s) eyes and ours as well, having that feeling when she stood up and took off it was just amazing. I was like, ‘That’s gonna stick with me for the rest of my life,'” Ethan Hill explained to WSLS.
Potter said the donkeys are special to him, and that he’s grateful to the firefighters.
“I got other donkeys but this one right here has got a special place in my heart. Thank you,” Potter told WSLS. “There’s no words that will take the place of what they did, kind of like, you know, some people’s got dogs and I got donkeys. That donkey is like my kid … I mean, I live by myself and that donkey is part of my family.”
Source: Wapt