Saviors
When a firefighter comes to mind, people often imagine them storming head first into flames to try and stop them. This may be the firefighters' first priority, but they do often go on other assignments too. They don't only save people -- their job extends to saving any living thing. Firefighters always have to adapt to their circumstances and can get drained from the hard hours of work. But even when they're feeling challenged, they still give the situation their all and save anyone in need.
A great example is a story from Colorado, where local firefighters who thought they'd seen it all rescued puppies and then noticed the truth surrounding the situation. After the firefighters saved them from their predicament, they noticed something weird about the pups they had just rescued.
Just A Normal Day
It started as a normal day for the Colorado Springs Fire Department. They were standing by for an emergency. They double-checked their equipment and their firetruck was fueled and ready, as were they.
Little did they know their day was going to be quite the strange one and unlike any other emergency they'd faced before. The ring of the phone would make sure of that.
Not A Typical Rescue
It was a normal day in March. The firefighters stood around remembering some of their previous ventures. Their day so far had been a quiet one, so they were excited to see what the rest of the day held for them. At that moment the phone started to ring.
A woman on the other end of the line was panicked and asked them to come and save some animals. They wasted no time hopping into their truck and arriving at the scene, not knowing what they'd find. All they knew from experience was that they had to get there as soon as possible.
Animals In Trouble
As they were arriving at the scene, they all thought of different procedures and protocols to use in any event -- just to prepare them mentally for what was about to come. They had no idea what the fire would be like, nor the animals that they would have to save. They would only be able to evaluate the situation once they arrived. But they all knew frightened animals were always hard to deal with.
Animals were like people, some would panic and some would stay calm in the commotion. But a scared animal is sometimes aggressive. The firefighters didn't know what animals they needed to rescue and what situation they were in. They had to be prepared for almost anything.
Preparing
The team felt a little anxious as they arrived and many thoughts raced through their heads. Because the fire was in the city they assumed the animals would be domesticated. But they also knew there was a chance that they could be feral.
They had to be ready. A firefighter is of no use to anyone else if they aren't safe when they work. The firefighters were veterans at their job but didn't disillusion themselves by thinking the job might be easy. They had rescued animals before from all manners of injuries so they felt ready.
Arrival
The team arrived and sprang into action. They got to the storm drain where the woman had said they were stuck. Thankfully, there hadn't been any rain recently. If there had been, the firefighters would have to deal with raging water and the animals would have been in danger of drowning.
Under the manhole, it was a dark, damp space. They considered how the animals must have felt -- most likely scared and alone. The firefighters also knew these animals were very young and couldn't take care of themselves. They had to hurry up.
Narrow
Since the drain was a very narrow space, the firefighters concluded the animals must be either small by nature or young. As they carefully pried open the drain cover, they expected one of the animals to immediately jump out. But none did. An adult would have seen the escape route and taken their chance. Something wasn't right.
The animals' cries could be heard emanating from the drain and that's what gave away that they were young. The small cold babies would have no idea how to get out of this situation. The team had no idea what animals they were, but it didn't matter to them. They had to save them and fast.
Why Were They In The Drain?
The drain was so narrow that the firefighters didn't know how the babies got into this situation in the first place. There was more than one cry and they had no idea how they got there.
Domesticated and feral animals don't generally leave their young in places like that. They looked around them and hoped to spot at least one mature animal, maybe the mother. It might help them identify what kind of animals they were dealing with, at the very least.
One Step At A Time
After hours had gone by they still hadn't seen any animals that could be the mother. They all thought of their own theories as to how the animals ended up down there and what happened to their mother. They didn't want to even think about if the mother had ended up in an accident.
They were motivated to save the babies from their situation. They just prayed that they could get them all to safety without a single casualty.
A difficult Choice
The drain was not a suitable place for the young, it was dark and cold. The babies' cries could still be heard from within the drain. The longer they stayed down there, the smaller their chances of survival.
The team finally got to the babies and were extremely happy to find them all alive. Still, they needed immediate help from their situation. They still hoped the mother was nearby, maybe searching for some food. Would she look for them if they took them away? They had to think about what was best for the tiny creatures.
Prioritizing
The situation was complicated but the team was determined to make the best choice for the babies. The needed to decide quickly but before they could, they needed to get them out and figure out what kind of animal they were dealing with. Only then could they figure out how best to help them.
If they were babies of a domesticated animal they would need all the help they could get. On the other hand, if they were wild animal babies, then leaving them in a natural habitat would be best. Finally, they reached the end of the tunnel and helped the babies out one by one. The instant the team saw them the team fell in love.
Welcome To The Wide World
The rest of the team waited anxiously as one of them reached into the tight space to bring the babies to safety. They put a white cloth beside the drain to place the babies on. The team also wore gloves to ensure that their natural scents weren’t disturbed, in case their mother came back for them. Everyone gasped when the first baby was brought out into the light.
The tiny baby was covered in black fur, had floppy ears, and a thin little tail. Everyone immediately knew what kind of animal they were dealing with. One by one the babies were brought out and laid on the cloth. The cute little animals all huddled together.
Welcome!
The firefighters were amazed at the sight of the incredibly cute bunch of puppies that they had just rescued. While they were no strangers to rescuing dogs and puppies, they had never before needed to save them from a sewer and they still could not figure out how the puppies had ended up so deep in the sewer.
Generally, a dog will snuggle into a comfortable area before giving birth and the sewer was far from somewhere comfortable. The puppies would also not have survived if it hadn’t been for the woman who had heard them and called the firefighters. The only shocking conclusion they could reach is that someone had placed them there on purpose.
Sad Start
It was wonderful to see all the puppies alive and well after the rescue, but the thought of some pet owners abandoning them there was heartbreaking. The person probably put them there because they didn’t want the puppies. There was no way someone could have done so without knowing that the puppies wouldn’t survive. The entire team hoped that this was not truly the case and they had no proof that it was.
The innocent puppies were so cute that it was almost unimaginable that anyone could have been so cruel on purpose. Whatever the case, the puppies had been rescued and now needed to be taken care of. That meant that the puppies needed immediate professional attention.
Teaching Them A Lesson
The firefighters took a moment to remind everyone around that they should never abandon pets like that. There were many people and organizations that could care for and help them. Not everyone is cut out to raise an animal but there are always better solutions than dumping them in a sewer.
Even so, the firefighters had no idea what had really happened and just kept praying that their dire scenario was not a reality.
Snuggling Up
The puppies immediately huddled together on the blanket as they were brought out. Apart from sharing body heat, the little puppies were cuddling each other to provide comfort. Everyone watching was touched by this display and seeing how important cuddling is even in the animal kingdom.
The firefighters, however, were still perturbed by the way the puppies were found in a sewer that they decided to investigate.
Seeking Answers
In trying to find out how the puppies ended up there, the team went back to the start and questioned the woman who made the call. As she explained the events leading up to her call, the firefighters breathed a sigh of relief.
The puppies hadn’t been abandoned, however, they did have quite a harrowing adventure. According to the called, the puppies had been swept down the drain after the heavy rains earlier that day. The team could only imagine how scared the puppies must have been. They were relieved to know that the puppies hadn’t been dumped.
Calling The Right People
The team was really happy someone had called them. They didn’t take the situation for granted either. In the minds of the firefighters, they weren’t the heroes that day. The person who had called them was the true hero.
When the woman saw the puppies get swept down the drain, she knew that there was no way she could rescue them. She was alone and didn’t have the proper experience or equipment to help the puppies. She immediately called the right people for the job.
Pure Speculation
With the mystery solved, the firefighters were at last able to try and figure out what breed of dog the puppies were. Despite the many different breeds of dogs out there, the firefighters guessed that they must be labrador puppies based on their fur and other physical characteristics.
The puppies were so cute that the team had no doubt that they would all be adopted very soon. Before they could be adopted, however, the team needed to make sure that the puppies got checked out. It was important to know that they were healthy and not sick. A sewer is not a healthy environment for any domestic pets, so the team took the puppies to a nearby vet to get them checked out.
First Check-up
The firefighters rushed to the vet to get the puppies checked because they had no idea how long the puppies had actually been in the drain. They took the puppies to the Pikes Peak Region’s Humane Society and had them checked one by one. In just a few hours the team received the happy news. All the puppies were strong and healthy, despite their ordeal.
One of the firefighters, Mark Jenkins, asked to be kept up to date on everything that happened to the puppies so he left his number with the vet. He was not expecting them to call him as soon as they did, or with the news they had.
Exciting Announcement
When he answered the veterinarian’s call, Mark was a little worried that they might have found something wrong with the puppies. He was anxious that they had gotten sick or something. However, the vet assured him quickly that there’s nothing wrong with them and they were actually doing fine and the call was to tell him something that he hadn’t predicted.
Mark was a little silent for a while, he looked at his teammates waiting for the updates from the dogs they have just rescued but he couldn’t say anything. He suddenly found himself laughing out loud with the phone still on his ears. Other firefighters looked at Mark weirdly but when he put the phone down and told them what was the call all about, they were also left in shock.
The Surprising Truth
From the very first time that the team of firefighters had seen the little creatures, they have already concluded that they were a bunch of puppies and they were Labradors in particular. However, the veterinarian had called to break them the news they had never expected. The little creatures they have guessed as Labrador puppies were actually baby foxes!
The firefighters could not believe it! The animals definitely looked like dogs. The vet explained that technically, they are still dogs they were just specifically not Labradors because they were actually red foxes in particular. The vet was not surprised that the firefighters were mistaken because the fox kits definitely looked like puppies especially when they were still infants. It was a common mistake but the firefighters could not recover from the big surprise.
What’s Best For Them
Aside from informing the firefighters that they were actually mistaken by the creatures’ identity, the vet also had to ask a little favor from them. Since the babies were actually fox kits, the veterinarian was worried that their mother must have been still in the area and in search of her babies. The vet requested the firefighters to return the kits back to the sewer where they have found them.
The firefighters quickly understood the situation and took action. They knew that a mother’s care would be the best for the kits. And so, they have returned to the area, they have put them where they pulled them out, but this time, with them observing from afar.
Giving It A Try
The firefighters returned the kits to the cold drain but they made sure that the area was completely safe for them. They watched them from afar as they waited for their mother to return. They knew that distance was important so that they would not scare her away but patience was also something they needed to practice.
The team was hoping that the kits’ mother would come back soon to take care of them as soon as possible. They knew that foxes have more chances of appearing at night when there were fewer people and the place was quiet and so, they waited for her as they were hoping for a wonderful reunion of the fox’s family.
No Mom In Sight
The firefighters spent several nights out in the dark with the kits as they waited patiently for the kits’ mother. However, their patience had already run out and there’s still no sign of the mother fox. They were thinking of all the possible things that must have happened with the kits’ mother, they hoped she didn’t run into any kind of danger or worse, she had been killed.
After several days of waiting, the firefighters knew they needed to take action again. Instead of waiting, they knew that the kits really needed to get used to the wild and learn to survive, but first, they needed someone to raise them. Thus, the firefighters proceeded to Plan B.
Moving On
The firefighters decided to scoop the poor kits again and make a move. They brought the kits to a place where they knew they’ll get the knowledge that they need. The kits were once again welcomed by another animal-friendly clinic, the Animal Clinic of Woodland Park. The firefighters knew that this was the safest place for them to grow as if they were really in the wild.
The Animal Clinic of Woodland Park is famous for helping and rehabilitating animals in all shapes and sizes. They provide training where the animals are taught how to live in the wild in the most creative ways. The firefighters expected that these people would be a great help for the cute kits to grow the way they were supposed to be just like they normally would if they were in the wild.
Important Lesson
After everything that had happened, many would have felt that this story was a little funny, with the fact that those cute creatures weren’t really puppies but a bunch of cute kits, which left everyone surprised. But they have learned a lot from this eye-opening experience. Although the firefighters had rescued a lot of animals in the past, this one of a kind cub rescue will always remain remarkable to them.
The team of Colorado Firefighters thought that they were really lucky to be introduced to wild animals through their job. Many people have very little knowledge about wild animals and their particular behaviors. The team hoped that with this story people would actually have a little more interest in knowing these creatures for their own safety and common misconceptions.
Expert Advice
For the experts, it actually wasn’t surprising to find kits in urban areas. Although it may have surprised the firefighters, they had explained that female foxes get pregnant during the cold months and give birth by the end of the long winter just like what had happened with the cute little kits.
With regards to the spot where she had given birth, Colorado has been known for a large population of foxes as the location had a lot of terrains like hills and mountains where they made their little dens. And being in the city, the mother fox must have been mistaken and thought that the drain was actually like sort of a den and a safe place to give birth to her babies.
Staying Optimistic
With everybody’s help and cooperation, we could hope that these kits would actually have a bright future. Although we can conclude that these kits were abandoned by their mother, they have been saved with the help of the witness and the team of Colorado Firefighters, plus they have gotten the knowledge they need to have in the wild with their rehabilitation in the Animal Clinic of Woodland Park.
In the end, though this story had started in an unfortunate accident, it all turned out well with the help of the right people. With this, firefighters could only wish that some people have picked up some knowledge and values in this story.
Moral of the Story
This story was aimed at making people realize that with the fast suburban growth, people would not blame the wild animals for visiting the city sometimes. Just like any other living creature, they also wanted to have a place that they can call home. As a human that has the capacity to understand these things, it would only be fair for us to not judge and treat these animals as pests when we encounter them. If you happened to experience this, it would be really nice if you would call the experts right away.
Accidents, on the other hand, are definitely inevitable, it is always unnecessary to make a move at the scene all by yourself especially if you don’t know you can’t do it all alone. You can help and save lives by calling the authorities that sure know what to do with the situation. Firefighters hope that all of us would someday felt that kind of social responsibility, valuing every living creature all around us.