Flood rescue story

The summer of 2012 seemed not to be a summer at all.

Wet weather and grey skies dampened many of our days. For some animals however, the rising waters from heavy rain threatened their homes and their lives.

Farmer feared his cows would drown

In June the cows on the left were surrounded by rising flood water when the river Arun burst its banks in West Sussex. 

The worried farmer contacted us for help and our response was to scramble seven officers.

When the team arrived the water had already reached nearly 5 ft and it was still rising.  To get the herd to safety, our officers carefully waded into the fast-flowing water. They then had to persuade 21 fresian cows to walk calmly through the flood to get to dry land.

It took seven officers almost two hours to rescue the striken cows, but without our help its likely these cows would have drowned.

Swimming with...donkeys!

In September five of our officers were called out to rescue two donkeys from a flooded field in the village of Cattal, York.

Our water rescue team managed to get to the donkeys, 15-year-old Davy and the ironically named four-year-old Noah, and led them to safety.

RSPCA Chief Inspector Mark Gent said:

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!

Be prepared for winter wetness

During the colder months it's especially important that you have a plan for your animals. Freezing, fast flowing, waters can be fatal to your pets, livestock or horses.

Be prepared. Read our flood advice.