Caroline Miller with her horse Ben, who was rescued from a drain by 20 volunteers. Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS. 88337
By Nicole Williams
BEN’S owners can rest easy knowing help is always at hand if he gets stuck in a drain again.
After the horse fell into a drain on their Dewhurst property, the family called the police and within an hour 20 CFA and SES volunteers were working to get Ben out safely.
Ben’s owner Caroline Miller wanted to thank all the volunteers who worked for three hours to release him by hand.
Ms Miller’s 16-year-old daughter was feeding Ben by a creek about 6.30pm on Tuesday 25 September when part of the bank collapsed and the horse fell, catching his legs under drain.
“We called the police because we didn’t know who to call, but the officers that came were fantastic,” she said.
“When they arrived they said they couldn’t do anything because Ben wasn’t on the road, so they got on phone.
“Before we knew it, we had 20 people there”
“Even the officers went right beyond call of duty; they wanted to see it through to end.”
Senior Constable Brett Hore and Senior Constable Steven Butler took the initial call and also want to thank the volunteers from the Upper Beaconsfield CFA and SES.
“It was really good that the volunteers came and provided their services and equipment when it really didn’t meet any of our criteria,” Sen Const Hore said.
Sen Const Hore also said the good result would not have been without the help of Kurt from Elite Equine Services who sedated Ben during the ordeal.
Ben is now recovering well, after spending a week under vet care.
