The hardworking men and women at the Colorado Fire Department are no strangers to peculiar calls. One in their position can never know what the day might bring, so they try to be prepared for everything. No matter how long they’ve been at it, however, one fateful call was probably still a first for them.
One group was tasked with retrieving a litter of 8 puppies from a dangerous situation. After hours of struggle, things changed drastically. There was something about those puppies that nobody could possibly see coming. The way things ended up shocked everyone, and will be cemented in the minds of everyone involved.
1. What It Takes To Be A Firefighter
It’s pretty obvious what they do – just look at the name. That being said, there’s a lot moe to the job than just putting out fires. They also spend plenty of time assisting animals in harm’s way and helping out with emergency medical situations.
Just like the police and other emergency service personnel which firemen interact with on a regular basis, they need to stay in excellent shape. Their work environment requires firefighters to be able to withstand extreme temperatures and handle intense situations.
2. Being Able to Respond Quickly
The FD in Colorado Springs has specialized equipment designed to aid in the completion of emergency response situations.
Resources are stashed throughout Colorado Springs for easy accessibility and rapid aid provision. It’s estimated that due to these measures, the FD can be on site and effective in most places in the city within eight minutes.
3. The Right Equipment Matters
The CSFD boasts some of the best equipment in the country. There are half a dozen truck businesses involved with the department. Besides that, there are also 22 engineering firms, three medical teams and a hazardous material team.
With this cross-section of professionals, it’s practically guaranteed that any situation can be handled well by this fire department.
4. Every Day’s She Same
As the sun rose on that fateful day. everything seemed normal at the CSFD. No one suspected that the day would end with such shock and drama.
The firefighters went about their business without any suspicion that their experiences that day would be unique. Their responders manned the lines, waiting for the inevitable flood of phone calls to come surging in.
5. An Ordinary Call
The fire department didn’t pick up on anything strange when the call came in. An animal needed help from the rescuers. A team was selected to manage the call, and promptly moved towards the animal’s location. They got there in a matter of minutes, a testament to the efficiency of the department’s employees.
6. Sticking To The Procedure
Protocols exist for a reason. They’re based on countless hours of real-life, on the job experience to make sure missions are completed as effectively as possible.
One important element to the training CSFD firefighters go through is that animals can react to danger in different ways depending on the situation. This is something firemen should never take for granted when approaching animals on a call.
7. Things To Keep In Mind
It cannot be overstated how important it is for firefighters to be careful when out in the field. They made every effort to be cautious as they moved closer to the spot where the animal or animals were supposed to be.
They still had no idea at that time what they were dealing with, or how much danger there was.
8. Some Things Aren’t Worth Worrying About
As they bravely approached the location, not a hair was out of place among the firefighters. This wouldn’t be their first time around the block when it comes to rescuing animals.
No matter what animal was out on the loose, they were confident in their ability to safely contain the creatures and return them to where they belong.
9. Things Come To A Head
The team got out of the truck and started walking. It soon became clear that the animals were being trapped by a storm grate. This wasn’t good. If it started raining, the animals could drown.
They still weren’t sure how the animals had gotten stuck down there in the first place, but they knew they had to move quickly if they wanted to get the animals out alive.
10. Rain Or Shine – What Was The Weather Like?
It wasn’t raining, and didn’t look like it would in the near future. That was good, but it didn’t solve the problem of the grate. Down beneath it, it was cold, dark, and scary. Those animals needed help now. The firefighters put their heads together and started formulating a plan.
11. The Rescue Plan
One thing the firemen immediately realized is that the animals which were trapped behind the storm grate were very small. They didn’t have enough muscle mass to force themselves through the openings.
It was starting to look like a small contingent of responders were going to have to get down there to haul out the animals. Without wasting any time, they started preparing to carry the plan out.
12. The Initial Part Of The Plan Begins
To get started, the group massed together and lifted up the storm grate. This was the only way to make the murky depths below visible.
Once exposed to the glaring light of the sun, the tiny creatures trapped below began to let out cries of shock and fear. The firefighters understood that the animals were very young, likely babies.
13. Where Did The Animals Even Come From?
The responders were scratching their heads. Why were the poor little things down there in the first place? They didn’t belong there, and their mother must have gotten separated from them.
How long had they been there? If the mother was nowhere to be found, then what would become of the babies after they were rescued?
14. Questions Unanswered
Among the many questions yet to be answered, one of the most important was: what species were these animals? The answer was still up in the air. It was time to get a grasp of the layout of the sewers below.
Traveling through them seemed like the best way to get to the unknown animals. The more space they had to maneuver around the animals as needed, the better.
15. It’s A Lucky Thing They Were Still Alive
It was quite surprising that the little ones hadn’t already died, although that could change at any moment. The small critters were stuck in a cold, dank area with no food.
They were encircled by filth, waste and garbage. The firefighters resolved to get the animals back out of the sewers alive no matter what it took.
16. Making A Tough Call
The more things change, the more they stay the same. As the situation became more perilous for the trapped animals, the firefighters settled in to work, making sure they stayed cautious.
They considered how the mother of the animals may be coming back to save them herself. She might also abandon them if she finds a distasteful scent on them after being in contact with the firemen. They had to pick the best option for the babies without delay.
17. The Next Step
The decision about the best way to save the animals was still being discussed.
If they could find out more about the nature of the trapped babies, they could make a more informed decision about how likely the mother would be to abandon her brood if the humans “contaminated” them. Some animals are more prone to this behavior than others.
18. Executing The Rescue Plan
In the end, it was decided that the mission would continue. The rescuers used gloves to keep their scent off of the baby animals. They put down a sheet next to the sewer. The plan was to keep the babies sequestered there while the firefighters figured out the next step.
19. The Rescue’s First Success
One daring teammate cautiously entered the sewer to come after the babies. He managed to secure one of them. Everyone there was surprised at how small the creature was. They set it down on the sheet as planned and it immediately began rolling around. It seemed relatively comfortable around people.
20. Trying To Figure Out The Breed Of Animal
It took a while after the first successful rescue, but the firefighters managed to determine that the animals were puppies. They definitely had no reason to be huddled together in the sewer, and the firemen still couldn’t figure out how they had ended up there in the first place. Read more about that.
21. Left Behind Without A Second Thought
Nobody liked to see the puppies ditched like that. The firefighters discussed amongst themselves how they could have ended up in the sewers.
Did someone leave them there? People abandon unwanted animals at the drop of a hat. Did they get lost and separated from their mother? If their mother was alive and still looking for them, should they wait for her to appear?
22. Making More Decisions
They still weren’t sure if the puppies had actually been abandoned, which would be terribly sad. They didn’t lose sight of the main objective, however. There were still more pups to rescue. They were cold, hungry, and mostly likely terrified.
Luckily, they were in good hands, even if they didn’t know it yet. Knowing that they were puppies made it easier to understand how to handle them, so the firefighters went right ahead and started moving back through the sewer.
23. Lessons Learned
Anyone who owns pets or other animals should take note of the events described here.
Even if you want to get rid of an animal, there are better ways to do it instead of ditching them somewhere where either they could get hurt, or they might hurt another animal or a person. Animal ownership is a major responsibility at all times, even if it doesn’t feel like it.
24. Additional Questions
It wasn’t clear at first what the number of puppies was that they were working with. Fortunately, there wasn’t much distance from the opening where the grate originally lay.
The rescue, once it was modified to take into account the new information, became a straightforward task. It seemed as if the puppies had been stuck in the sewer for at least a few days.
25. How Had The Puppies Gotten There?
The puppies had been huddled against each other to preserve warmth. They did this both in the sewer and on the sheet outside after they’d been saved.
They couldn’t make any more inroads about how this situation had been thrown into motion, so they decided to take a different initiative. It was time to reach out to the lady who had first informed the CSFD about the case.
26. Getting To The Bottom Of It
The woman informed the fire department that she had noticed the puppies as they were swept down into the storm drain after ending up in a stream.
Everyone was thankful that none of them had drowned. It was also heartening to learn that no one had intentionally left the pups behind. The dogs were all recovered before a storm popped up and ruined everything.
27. She Did The Best She Could
The lady made every effort to reach the puppies when she saw what happened to them. Sadly she couldn’t make it.
She couldn’t get the grate open no matter how hard she tried. She was just as glad as everyone else to learn that everything had gone well with the rescue effort.
28. The Crew Loved What The Lady Did
The crew from the fire department was very pleased with the efforts by the good samaritan. She set an excellent example for the community to follow.
The phrase to remember is, “If you see something, say something.” The lady did everything right: she tried to help herself, admitted when she had hit a wall (figuratively and literally in this case), and reached out the the expert authorities for help.
29. What’s The Breed
Now that disaster had been avoided, the team could debate what kind of breed the dogs were. They seemed to many to resemble Labradors. Their hair was short and wiry, with fur on the darker side.
Maybe someone somewhere could help settle the argument permanently. A K-9 expert couldn’t be too far away, right?
30. What To Do Next
After the recovery effort was successful, the firemen moved to take the puppies to the next place where they’d be cared for. Some veterinarians were tasked with checking the pups out.
He gave them a clean bill of health. Later, the puppies were dropped off with the Human Society, where their safety could be ensured.
31. Good News
Eventually, the Human Society contacted the team at the CSFD. The puppies were still doing well. They were all a healthy weight, and had plenty of energy. If you didn’t already know it, you would be very surprised to find out how poorly they had been living for a few days not too long ago.
32. Further Updates
One of the firefighters who participated in the recovery efforts is named Mark Jenkins. He gave the Humane Society his number so that the FD could stay up to date on the condition of the babies he rescued. He was pleasantly surprised by the call he quickly received from the organization.
33. Surprising News
A vet working with the Humane Society called Mark and described how well the puppies were doing. He had more to say than that, however. His next words were completely unexpected.
It was the most shocking fact anyone learned throughout the entire situation. It was what would ensure that no one involved eve forgot that day.
34. Say What?
The vet eventually explained to Mark that the puppies were not Labradors after all. As a matter of fact, they weren’t dogs at all.
Mark had to double-check what he had just heard – could it be true? It seemed that the truth was that the baby dogs were actually baby foxes. Imagine Mark’s surprise.
35. How Did This Happen?
Mark couldn’t understand how baby foxes had gotten confused with Lab puppies. You didn’t assume that those drastically different lifeforms could be mixed up so easily.
The vet disclosed that when they’ve been born recently, these two animals can actually be confused without much trouble. The fox cubs are red foxes, but they sure weren’t colored red just yet. The only thing that everyone cared about was that the babies were safe, happy, and healthy.
