View this post on Instagram A post shared by Washoe County Animal Services (@washoeanimals)
Firefighters and animal services officers were summoned to a Nevada home in the wee hours of the morning to rescue a horse that plunged into a swimming pool and couldn’t get out.
Washoe County Regional Animal Services said Officers Trevor Maloy and Roland Albertson responded alongside Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District and Least Resistance Training Concepts personnel after the horse was reported trapped in a Thomas Creek Road swimming pool just after 3 a.m. Monday.
“The pool had a cover on it, and the horse wandered into the yard, likely not recognizing that the pool cover was not a solid surface,” animal services said on social media. “The horse did not belong to the home owner, and it was unclear how long the horse had been in the water.”
A second loose horse was spotted wandering nearby the residence.
“Time was of critical importance, as the horse was so exhausted, it was lateral in the pool, with rescuers holding its head above water to prevent drowning,” the post said.
Rescuers fitted the horse with a large animal rescue harness and used the homeowner’s backhoe to hoist the equine out of the water and cover it with blankets.
Comstock Equine Hospital veterinarians examined the exhausted horse and found it to be uninjured aside from minor cuts and bruises.
Both horses were returned safely to their owner.
