A DRAUGHT horse with its hoof stuck in a cattle grid, a horse recovered from of a homestead swimming pool, a bull stuck in the mud at the bottom of a five metre embankment on the Macquarie River.
These are just some of the large animal rescues conducted by Dubbo Rescue Squad over the years, but it won't be long before the team has all the up-to-date equipment to perform future rescues without endangering personnel safety or possibly furthering animal injury during rescue procedures.
With a donation from the region's Police Rural Crime Prevention Team of an all-purpose trailer, Dubbo Rescue Squad will soon have the right equipment to handle all types of large animal rescues.
Western Region Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie and Detective Inspector Cameron Whiteside of the Rural Prevention Team oversaw the handover of an out of use storage trailer which was repurposed by police.
Det. Insp. Whiteside said the trailer would be 'of great use' to the rescue squad.
"We do a lot of work together, especially in the capacity of large animal rescue, whether that be on farms or around the district, this will help facilitate that purpose and allow them to respond in a more timely and effective manner," he said.
"The people that operate the rescue squad are all volunteers, and they're out there supporting us day in, day out and at all hours of the night.
"So we think it's extremely important to not only support them in the field as individuals, but if we can help them out with equipment to make their job and ours a bit easier and ultimately our farmer's jobs a bit easier."
Mr Sturrock said several rescue squad members had completed an additional course on large animal rescue about 12 months ago and since have been spreading the word and on the lookout for a trailer exactly like this.
"All we need now is some extra donations to raise the required $5000 to equip and fit out the trailer for work," he said. "With this trailer we now can work effectively while not endangering our lives or causing further injury to the animal being rescued."
The trailer will be used to transport various types of equipment including harnesses and slings to extricate large animals like horses and cows from difficult situations and other incidents, something the Rescue Squad has become adept at.
"To have the equipment on hand that will allow us to handle these situations with more ease is great for not only us, but also for the wider community," Mr Sturrock said.
"We'd appreciate any extra financial support from anyone who'd like to donate."
