Tow Truck Pulls Horse From Quicksand-Like MD Stream

WILLIAMSPORT, MD — Bystanders, a tow truck, fire crews and others banded together Sunday to rescue Fancy the horse from a quicksand-like stream bed in western Maryland. A passerby noticed the horse mired in muck alongside a slow-moving stream in the Williamsport area and called 911. But saving the animal was a group effort.

Two women held the horse's head up out of the water and kept it calm, while two Washington County Special Operations team members put on wet suits so they could withstand the cold water as they cleared muck from beneath the horse so straps could slide under Fancy's belly to hoist her out of the mess.

A tow truck operator from D&D Truck Repair and Towing then used his boom to lift the horse, which struggled and had to be strapped in a second time, the county's Facebook page said.

On the second attempt, the horse made it onto the stream bank, and "whoops and claps went up from a crowd of about 20 people who watched," reports The Herald Mail.

Officials told the newspaper the horse was in the water for more than an hour.

One witness said on the Washington Co. Md Fire Calls Facebook page, "I just want to say thank you to the two young lady's [sic] that stayed in that cold water the whole time keeping the horse as calm as possible and keeping its head above water. The guy that came in that big rig well gosh, you're awesome!!! All three are HEROS to me," wrote Kathy Varron.

And Lina Beers thanked rescuers on the page and noted that "Fancy was seen by the vet and is resting quietly in her stall for the night."

Photo courtesy of the Washington County Maryland Fire Calls Facebook page