SAN DIEGO (CNS) - San Diego Humane Society Emergency Response Team volunteers acted in the night this week to help rescue KC, a 28-year-old horse who had fallen in a drainage area in her Valley Center paddock, it was announced Thursday.
According to the SDHS, KC fell sometime after 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Friends and neighbors assisted her owners in moving KC to flatter ground before the ERT arrived, "but despite her best efforts, she was still unable to stand on her own."
When the ERT volunteers arrived, it was 11 p.m. Working in tandem with KC's veterinarian, the team gently rolled her twice and set up a "bipod and sling system to safely assist her," a statement from the Humane Society read. After around an hour in the sling and an additional dose of medication from the veterinarian, KC was finally able to stand.
She was moved to a smaller safe area where should could rest and rehabilitate. Volunteers stayed on the scene until 3 a.m.
The Emergency Response Team is trained and equipped to assist with "complex, technical animal rescues," the SDHS statement read. The team can respond to large-animal emergencies involving downed or trapped animals, including the use of specialized lifting systems, slings, bipods and other rescue equipment to help safely extricate and stabilize animals in challenging conditions.
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