Two horses flee enclosure, fall into icy backyard pool as Quebec town rallies in rescue attempt
WARNING -- This story contains images some may find distressing
Two runaway horses were discovered in a backyard swimming pool Friday in Hemmingford, Que., about an hour south of Montreal.
The horses had already been on the run for hours, locals say, escaping from a nearby enclosure.
During the night, Francois Pouliot says he was woken up by his dog barking.
“He wasn’t calming down. So I said, ‘there’s something going on outside’,” said Pouliot. “We started to look around, and I found two horses in the driveway.”
He says the horses made their way to the middle of town. Meanwhile, an entourage of locals had started searching for them.
Somehow, they wandered into a nearby backyard, and fell through the ice over a family swimming pool. It’s unclear how long they were submerged. Sean Hadley got a frantic call from his mother, who owns the pool, at around 8:30 a.m.
“She goes, ‘well, they’re in the pool,’ and she was a little frantic,” he said, recouting the call. “I came right down to find two horses.”
Pouliot had also come to the house to try to hoist the horses out. One of them had become trapped in the frigid water under the protective tarp and couldn’t be saved.
“I just realized a horse just like fell and died in our hands,” he told CTV. “And right away, you had no time to cry or whatever. It’s like ‘okay, there’s another one right there. We can save this one.’ It takes a lot of adrenaline.”
A Quebec provincial police car is seen parked at a residence in Hemmingford, Que., where two horses escaped from their enclosure and fell into a nearby backyard pool. One of the horses died, while the other was taken into the care of an animal shelter.
In a post to social media, nearby animal shelter RefugeRR confirmed it took the surviving horse into its care.
“She is safe, warm and we are hoping she does not develops pneumonia from all the water in her lungs,” wrote the shelter. “This poor mare also watched her friend drown right in front of her.”
“Thank you so much to the citizens of Hemmingford, and fire department for working so hard to get her out of the water,” it added.
The shelter says the horse is already undergoing treatment, and will receive “life-long care.”
As for the owner of the horse, the SPCA says it has seized three of his dogs, and provincial officials will visit him in the coming days.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A 'tragedy that can't be measured': North Bay's forever chemical problem is also the rest of Canada's
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Questlove was not happy with Drake and Kendrick Lamar's beef: 'Nobody won the war'
While some may have been excited and/or amused by the diss-track feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, the man many consider to be an elder statesman of hip-hop appears less than enthused about it.
Here's what 'the hinge' move is, how to do it correctly
When you're picking something up from the floor or bending over to tie your shoe laces, you're performing "the hinge move," according to movement trainers.
Trump heading to Jersey Shore to rally 'mega crowd' in weekend break from hush money trial
After a long week in court, Donald Trump is heading to the Jersey Shore. And his campaign says he'll be joined by "tens of thousands" of his friends.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.