Two donkeys – one fittingly called Noah – have been rescued from their field after becoming victims of flooding in North Yorkshire
Fifteen-year-old Davy and four-year-old Noah were rescued, cold but unhurt, from their field in Cattal near York yesterday, by an RSPCA rescue team.
RSPCA chief inspector Mark Gent said: “We had to wade out quite a way to get to the donkeys and though they were happy to be led in the more shallow water it became much trickier when the field dipped.
“The water was pretty deep. At one point we were up to our necks in it and the donkeys were literally swimming.
“I’ve done swimming with dolphins but it’s the first time, and hopefully the last, I’ll swim with donkeys!”
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
The team then went to Ripon to rescue 14 sheep from Little Studley Road. The sheep made a swim for it moments before the team waded out, and were all fine.
RSPCA chief inspector Rob Melloy, who is co-ordinating the North of England water rescue team’s response today, said: “Our water rescue specialists are on-call around the clock at the moment.”
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.
