Large animal rescue team saves Amissville pony
The Little Fork Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company in Rixeyville, the only volunteer Technical Large Animal Rescue Team in the state, came to the rescue of “Sandy,” a 30-year-old Chincoteague pony in Amissville on Monday afternoon with assistance from Amissville fire and rescue, an area vet and an animal control officer.
The Little Fork team, a group of dedicated volunteers, responds to human fire and rescue calls but is the only one that rescues our beloved animals, most often of equine and bovine persuasion.
The heart-wrenching and heartwarming stories are aplenty and Sandy, of “Misty of Chincoteague” fame, owned by Sheri Shambor of Amissville, is the beneficiary of their well-honed rescue skills.
Sheri has owned Sandy for 16 years. “I’m so grateful to these volunteers, they were clearly well trained, so knowledgeable and obviously cared. It’s amazing to me that they are an all volunteer force, such unselfish people. I can’t thank them enough for saving my
Sandy.”
Here’s how it went down during the two-hour rescue:
Doug Monaco, Little Fork’s chief, said the rescue team was dispatched at 10:58 a.m., to assist "Sandy" who’d gotten herself into a predicament.
“She had fallen under a fence and became wedged against the supports of a farm building on a very steep incline. Our vet (Dr. Tena Boyd Corbin) was notified along with the first due engine company — Amissville VFC. We also requested an Animal Control Officer from our county.
“It was decided to move her to a level area for more definitive care. The vet decided not to sedate because of her age and her weakened condition. We placed her head in a life preserver, our head protector was too large for her. We utilized two straps to move her away from the building. We then readjusted them and made a few other movements to place her on the rescue glide. We had to remove one of the fence posts.
“You can see where a couple of members were placed under the building to assist as well as place life preservers on the building supports to provide some protection. Once we had her on the glide we used Amissville Attack 1403's winch to pull the glide up the incline.
“Other fire and EMS personnel used the straps to keep her on the board while it was moved. Once we had her close to the flat area we used all personnel that were present to finish moving her. This was not a "textbook operation" but proved to be the quickest and safest method to move her.
“The vet proved to be right, Sandy never moved or kicked until we had her moved to the level area. She sat up while we removed the straps and glide and began to eat the bales that were placed beside her. Once there, the vet began a thorough assessment and discussed the options with her owner.
Two hours of intense focus on the part of rescue volunteers resulted in Sandy’s rescue while a typical large animal rescue operation lasts on average four to six hours, according to Doug who said the team has run rescues since 2011
They started out, he says with a smile, “not having a clue how to handle such large animal incidents, and so a number of us attended classes in Middleburg offered by a world renowned trainer, a specialist in large animal rescue, and indeed 11 of our rescue team are now certified as large animal technicians.”
Being the only large animal rescue group in the state, he said, the volunteers are called out to every area from Roanoke to Richmond. He said the group would like to create two more teams to work out of those areas, and create a triangular presence. We have sister/ brother organizations, if you will, in certain states, not every state has a team, and we share and learn a great deal from each other. We also are in contact and share with other countries such as Germany and the UK and Australia who have thriving large animal rescue teams as well.
“We are not only trained to deal with large animal distress,” Doug said, “but also empathize with the owners. These are beloved animals, they are family members and so we immediately upon arrival ask for the animals name, like Sandy, or Harry the horse in Marshall whom we also recently rescued.”
I asked Doug about being an unsung hero, and he was quick to make mention of those who stay behind, those who aren’t pictured in the cherished photos of a hopefully happy ending, photos posted on their facebook website; namely the volunteers who stay behind to man the fire and rescue squad’s normal day-to-day operations.
Volunteers personify selflessness. Art Candenquist, a beloved Rappahannock man, known to all as a community cheerleader, a champion of good works, is a classic example. He is a Deputy Emergency Coordinator at Rappahannock County, Va. Office of Emergency Management and Capt. & Safety Officer; Firefighter/ EMT; Life Member at Amissville Vol. Fire & Rescue and he truly walks the walk.
He was at “Sandy’s” rescue and was asked what motivates him to volunteer.
“It’s not a monetary reward,” Art said. “Not at all. I remember responding a number of years ago to a fire, a little girl was crying uncontrollably. Yes her home was burning, but I suspected more. I entered the burning home, the smoke was almost overwhelming, and we’re trained to crouch on the floor, follow the walls and I could feel the heat on my neck. We’re trained to know that animals will find a hidden spot, a dark, quiet place during such danger, and sure enough, in one of the rooms under a bed, I caught sight of a soft white animal, grabbed it and pulled it out.
“Seemingly lifeless I took out a breathing apparatus, and figured nothing to lose and proceeded. The little tyke, a Jack Russell, came to and promptly bit me on the nose. I, all bloody and smiling to myself, delivered the fella to an overwrought, emotional little girl, her tears of distress immediately transformed into a face of wild, unbridled happiness. That is why I do what I do. That is the reward.”
Little Fork is seeking funding to build a much needed fire and rescue station to house their special equipment. If you would like to donate to help their organization please go to the following link: https:// www.youcaring.com/littlefork-volunteer-technical-l… and if you’d like to join and volunteer or find out additional information please see their sites:
https://www.facebook.com/littleforkvolunteerlargeanimalrescueteam/
http://littleforkvfrc.org/ tlaer
We salute all of you for your spirit of volunteerism, your extraordinary commitment to our community and for being unsung heroes, whose song needs to be sung. Thank you for your service.