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
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.