STERLING TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A family in Wayne County is breathing a sigh of relief. Their horse Camy was trapped Tuesday night after her back leg fell through the barn floor. However, fire and EMS crews were able to get her out in just a couple of hours.
Camy is a 23-year-old retired racehorse. Weighing 1,100 pounds, this sweet girl is getting all the treats she wants after enduring quite the night.
Camy's back leg fell right through the barn floor late Tuesday night. Laura Pavlicek panicked when she heard her horse in distress, automatically assuming the worst.
"Her leg is broken. We're going to have to put her down. Just everything goes through your head at the one time," Pavlicek said.
She immediately called 911. Firefighters arrived as quickly as they could.
"They were like, 'What the heck happened?' I said, 'I don't know. Listen, my barn is dated back to the 1860s. It's holding up this much, but it gave way and down she went,'" Pavlicek said.
First responders from Hamlin Fire and Rescue devised a plan to get Camy out safely.
"We took part of the saddle, the belly strap around her, and it was wide enough that we got it underneath her belly. We got some ropes and some straps and some other rigging on it, and that's what we ended up using to pull her out of the hole," Hamlin Fire and Rescue Chief Steve Price said.
The fire department called David Swingle for help. He is not a member of the fire department, but he lives nearby and has aided the department in horse rescues in the past.
"I was actually surprised at how fast we were able to get her back to her feet after the exhaustive situation that she went through," Swingle said.
Camy is feeling sore and she is a little bruised up, but she is on the road to recovery. Pavlicek was extremely grateful for all the help from first responders.
"All they kept saying is, 'We're not leaving until she's walking,' and they did. They stayed. I can't thank them enough," Pavlicek said.
Camy was checked out by a vet and she is extremely lucky, no broken bones, just bruises and scrapes. She should be back to normal in the next couple of weeks.