Firefighters Realized It Wasn’t Actually Puppies That They Saved From A Drain

The Colorado Springs Fire Department are very used to receiving calls, however, nothing could have even slightly prepared them for that was going to happen next. After receiving a call they hurried to respond to a distress call they received about being tasked to save a litter of puppies from the sewers. After rescuing the puppies and checking on their condition, they realized that what they saved from the gutters wasn’t puppies.

Job Conditions

Firefighters have other important tasks besides putting out fires or rushing into burning infrastructures, such as helping people in need and rescuing animals that are in danger, and not just kittens stuck in treetops.

Firefighting Isn’t The Only Thing

While extinguishing fires are a firefighter’s primary objective, it isn’t the only thing they do. Firefighters are expected to be skillful in multiple fields such as providing medical aid, analyze the fireproofing measures of a building, and handling hazardous materials.

Reaction Speed

Firefighters are expected to move swiftly and accordingly when it comes to responding to dire situations. The Colorado Springs Fire Department has a massive emergency team at the ready to react quickly to as many SOS calls made in the city, and they pride themselves that, for 90% of the time, they can arrive at their destination within 8 minutes.

Gear

In the event that they face multiple fire breakouts in different places at the same time, the Colorado Spring Fire Department amassed various equipment to go against the fire. They have a variety of vehicles to fight off the fire, depending on the case scenario. They currently have 11 brush trucks when responding to wildland fires, one air supply tries, one hazardous material decontamination vehicle, and one hose wagon.

Like Any Other Day

It was just another day for the Colorado Spring Fire Department when they were about to rescue the pups. Everything was exactly how it was supposed to be, and they had already finished with their inspections and check-ups. The coffee was prepared, and reports had already been filed accordingly. However, what seemed to be a typical day becomes unforgettable because of a rather peculiar call.

A Particular Phone Call

That typical day suddenly changed when they received a call to save an animal. After asking for more information about the situation, they proceeded with responding accordingly. They felt that the task wasn’t complicated, since it wasn’t unusual for firefighters to be assigned to act upon such circumstance.

Safety Measures

Experienced Animal rescuers know the dangers of their mission. They understand that regardless of how much you want to help out a distressed animal, there are specific safety measures you must adhere to for the sake of your own safety in the event that the animal is somehow provoked to attack. Firefighters know the conduct expected of them when rescuing animals to ensure the safety of both parties.

Always Ready

Firefighters are prepared for anything concerning animal rescue operations. Not only do they rescue domesticated animals such as cats and dogs, but they’re also ready to save untamed animals like chicken, bears, and even snakes or wild cats.

No Problem

This was just another one of those days that there shouldn’t be anything to be anxious over, since rescuing a litter of puppies was an effortless job, and it’s hardly worth breaking a sweat over. The response team geared up and headed towards the site where the young canines were located.

Analyzation

They jumped out, assessed, and formulated their course of action as soon as they arrived at the scene. From their point of view, the puppies were stuck deep beneath a storm grate. It wasn’t a complicated situation to read, but judging the condition of the weather, the puppies are in danger of drawing in the event that it rains.

The Time Is Running

After a few minutes of evaluating the situation and planning accordingly, they realized that even if it were to stop raining, the puppies would still be in danger, given that they were stuck in a cold, dark hole. They knew that the clock was ticking, and they should start acting before the situation gets worse.

Think Fast

Given that the puppies were too small to reach out of the hole by themselves, the firefighters inferred that the puppies could not escape on their own. They talked about the plan and the options they could consider for the puppies and agreed upon the notion that one or two firefighters should extract the puppies.

First Glimpse

They lifted the storm grate together and detached it from blocking their route towards the pups, and they found that the puppies were stuck down the sewer. Only then did they realize that the animals were just young pups.

Homeless

The firefighters wondered what happened to the puppies’ mother and how they even managed to get inside such deep sewage where they can literally fall into their own deaths. Curiosity aside, they simply focused on the task at hand.

Left Behind

They surveyed the surrounding areas to see if any of the puppies’ parents were around. They became extremely wary since some animals are known to abandon their young upon learning they’ve been touched by other foreign creatures, while other animals resort to violence once they knew that their offspring could be taken away from them. To save the puppies without having any casualties, they chose to become more cautious of their environment.

Plight

The firefighters saw precisely what the puppies’ status of living was in those sewers if you could even call it living. They were shocked to see the puppies covered in mud and trash. What’s worse is that they received no sunlight. It was pitch black down there, and they could freeze to death. They knew the puppies wanted to survive, so the team took it upon themselves to try and save the critters.

On Thin Ice

The clock was ticking on their mission, and they were aware of that. Those puppies were stuck in horrible conditions, and their lives were in danger, so the team knew they needed to act fast to save the puppies. If the mother abandoned her children, they should proceed with the puppies’ safety in mind. Nevertheless, there was still the possibility that the mother would be upset if she returned and found that her children were no longer there.

In A Tense Moment

Upon close examination of the puppies, they realized that they were no ordinary young animals, and the feeling of unease began washing over the team. Their parents might return sooner or later. They were at more risk as it is if a vicious animal attacks them in the dark. The person spearheading the rescue of the puppies had to make the difficult on-site decisions.

Considering Options

They had several choices they could make in their situation. For one, they could simply pull back with the puppies’ rescue and hope that they do have parents that will come back for them. That, or they could proceed with saving the puppies and hope that they didn’t have any parents to speak of. Regardless, it doesn’t take away the fact that the puppies were trapped.

Investigation

The firefighters’ resolve was that they were going to proceed with rescuing the puppies, regardless if they didn’t know if they were even really puppies. If they ended up tainting them with their human touch, that would be a casualty they’d have to take responsibility for.

The Rescue Plan In Action

The team readied themselves for the rescue mission. They wore gloves to avoid defiling the puppies with their scent. Once they save the puppies from the sewer, they would place the puppies on a sheet that had been provided outside the drain to cover them.

The First Rescue 

The firefighters were cautious as they rescued the first batch of puppies from the sewer. The people who witnessed the puppies’ reveal were surprised because of how small and soft their bodies seem to be. A minute later, the puppies had been moved out of the sewers and into the free world.

A Man’s Buddy

After a while spent studying the puppies, they realized that what they rescued from the sewers weren’t just puppies, but very young ones at that. While they were delighted that they successfully saved a puppy, the question of how they managed to get into the sewers lingered among them. The first batch of puppies was successfully rescued, but the rest were still in the gutters.

A Cruel Theory

A theory floated among them that someone had thrown the puppies into the sewers. It was a sad reality they had to realize. It was common for people to do something as cruel as such, leaving animals on the side of the road, hoping they’d die of either dehydration, starvation, or an unfortunate in the streets.

The Sad Reality Of It

This was another example of how one would conclude that humans are a miserable sort. They would be willing to leave vulnerable animals out to die as an easy means of freeing themselves from the burdens of pet ownership. It’s disappointing, and common, which is why firefighters work hard to rescue the animals left out in danger by such uncaring people.

Easy Way Out

Let this be a lesson for all current and aspiring pet owners. While some might believe that abandoning their pets to the mercy of the wild outdoors was an easy out to their responsibilities, it meant the opposite for their pets. Domesticated animals would find it difficult to adapt and survive because the wild outdoors is a big change from the environment they’ve grown used to. The firefighters hoped that these puppies weren’t abandoned for such a reason.

A Litter Of Critters

The firefighters didn’t waste any time to proceed with the task at hand to counting how many puppies were indeed in need of rescuing since it was difficult to tell just how many they were down in the sewers. Fortunately, the drain wasn’t too deep, and the puppies were quickly located and rescued.

Clustered

The puppies were tiny enough that the firefighters could fit all of them in their hands. The puppies were confused by the sudden change of their environment, from being in a cold, dark, clammy sewer, they were finally brought into the bright open, surrounded by humans.

Acquiring Data

The teams surveyed the scene to figure out what happened. Witnesses helped by complying to give all the information they could. One eyewitness recalled that the flood of a storm had taken the puppies.

Breath Of Relief

The firefighters were eased by the fact that the puppies weren’t abandoned after-all and were simply swept up by a flood, and the current brought them into the sewers, as one eyewitness claimed.

Rapid Action

A woman told the firefighters that she had seen the puppies be swept by the flood and tried to run after them but couldn’t get there on time to stop them from being sucked into the sewers. She tried to pry it open to save them herself, but she lacked the tools and physical strength to do it herself.

Who’re You Gonna Call

Worried but unsure of who to turn to for help, the woman rang up the Colorado Spring Fire Department. Clearly, she made the right call since they were equipped with the knowledge and tools to deal with the situation accordingly.

An Example

The firefighters applauded the woman’s thoughtfulness and reason and the lengths she went to save animals from peril and hoped that more people would follow her example.

The Guesswork

After rescuing them, the next thing the firefighters did was figure out what exactly were the puppies. Given their black, wiry, short fur coat, they concluded that it was a litter of labradors. However, they would soon find out that they thought wrong.

Step Two

The firefighters then prioritized the well-being of the puppies and delivered them to the Humane Society in the area. The puppies could be sick, weak, or malnourished, possible to the brink of death given the conditions they previously lived in, so time was of the essence.

Great News

The puppies were put in a robust and stable condition after they took a good look at them. They were fed well and nursed back to health. The firefighters soon realize that their job was done.

Development On The Situation

Mark Jenkins was still in too deep his curiosity, so the firefighters decided to give his number to the veterinarians and asked that they keep him updated for further developments to the puppies’ situation.

Interesting Update

The veterinarian did indeed get in touch with him as soon as there was a development. They later phoned Mark with news about the puppies. They assured him that the pups were fine and that there wasn’t anything to worry about. However, they said something that shocked him.

A Shock

Mark pressed the phone close to his ear to make sure he heard it right, and the vet repeated what they said to make him understand what they just said. The vet explained that the puppies weren’t precisely “puppies.”

To Clarify

Mark was stunned to hear the words “red fox” come from the vet, seeing as the animals looked more like a litter of puppies than a troop of foxes. The vet later explained that red foxes have a darker shade of fur upon birth.

Not What They Seem

Once the call ended, Mark informed the rest of his team about the vet’s clarification. He was excited to share how the animals they all thought to be puppies turned out to be not what they seem at first.

Giving Back

The vet also informed them that the mother could still be in the area, possibly looking for her children. The firefighters planned to return the puppies to the place they previously rescued them from as soon as possible so that the mother would not end up genuinely abandoning her cubs.

It’s Worth A Shot

The firefighters were a little embarrassed about putting back their rescuees to the same place they were found, but it was an essential step to making sure they could be reunited with their mother. This time, the firefighters are sure to keep their eye out.

A Long Wait

After the cubs were placed back to the hole, the rescuers waited patiently for the mother to arrive back to her children. They kept their distance and planned not to make any necessary interference as not to scare the mother away. The vet advised briefed them about how the mother might wait until nighttime to return to her cubs.

The Red Fox

Red foxes are often associated with intelligence. They spend most of their time hiding away in dens while nighttime had yet to come. Things didn’t go as the firefighters had planned; it seemed like the mother might wait until the morning to make an appearance.

West European Fox

Red foxes are native in Western Europe. Arctic foxes are found in Scandinavia, while Corsac foxes originate from Russia. Red foxes differ from the other types of foxes since they were the largest of them all.

Scared Away

The waiting time carried on for a while, and yet there was no sign of the mother fox. The effort of returning the cubs to the sewer hole proved to be all for naught. Bystanders believe that maybe the mother fox had seen everything that happened and was scared away.

A Lost Cause

After waiting for a few nights, the firefighters chalked it all up to a lost cause. The cubs needed to be tended to, and they simply cannot rest their faith on the off-chance that the mother might return. It is still saddening though that the cubs won’t be reunited with their mother.

The Next Step

They confirmed to themselves that the mother wasn’t gonna come back for her cubs. For a second time, they went to the Animal Clinic of Woodland Park. They intended to help as much as they can with sufficient knowledge about the situation that they know about.

Welcomed Assistance

The Animal Clinic of Woodland Park is known to be competent with their mission to nurse and rehabilitate animals, especial the young that are too frail to survive on their own. They care for such animals until they’re capable of living out their lives independently.

Much To Learn

After the amusing story about the rescue of the red foxes, the firefighters realized they still have so much to learn about dealing wild animals in need.

Unsurprising

The firefighters were surprised to be told by experts that such an occurrence is not as uncommon as they might think. They speculate that the mother fox may have mated in the same region only a few months ago.

Ideal Spot

At first, one might find it odd to see foxes in the middle of Colorado, but apparently, it makes perfect sense. Colorado is known for its fox population, given it has appropriate terrain full of mountains and hills that are suited as the ideal spot for foxes to create dens.

Colorado’s Wildlife

Other than foxes, Colorado’s fauna also includes snakes, bears, coyotes, deers, and even mountain lions. Hikers often encounter such animals, but not so much as the hostile ones. And while some animals may appear to be tame or docile, it’s best to leave them alone.

Cold Darkness

Foxes are known to dig out dens as their habitats, which begs the question, why would the mother fox of the cubs choose a sewer as the appropriate place to leave her young? Experts say that it’s because she found the gutters an ideal location for her cubs, given it’s dark and cold.

An Error

Despite knowing that, the mother fox was still at fault for leaving behind her cubs. While the sewers proved to be a suitable place for her young, it didn’t compensate for the conditions of a typical fox den.

Birthplace

The people involved in the rescue and mystery of the cubs began piecing together the facts they’ve acquired to satiate their curiosity hopefully. They formed a credible theory about how the mother then may have given birth to her cubs in the sewers.

A Ray Of Hope

While it’s expected for us to feel bad for the cubs, there’s still a silver lining to it all. Since being abandoned, the young foxes are now being cared for in a way that they wouldn’t’ve received if they weren’t rescued.

Metropole

Firefighters are shocked to see foxes downtown since foxes aren’t expected to be found in the big city instead of the home in the wild. However, that isn’t too much of a deal given how what used to be wildlife has turned into towns full of buildings and busy life.

Encountering Fauna

Experts advise people to follow a particular code of conduct when encountering wildlife. For one, don’t feed the animals regardless of how hungry it looks. Another thing to keep in mind is not to leave out food for pets outside. Also, people are told to cover up holes that are bigger than a quarter of an inch.

Naturally Adjusting

Since their natural habitats are being turned into urban sites, animals have begun roaming around cities and adapting to the new artificial environment, which will prove to be dangerous to both humans and animals.

Receiving Help

The woman previously mentioned she made the right choice by calling the firefighters instead of taking it up for herself to rescue the cubs despite having neither the knowledge nor tools to do so. When she saw the cubs be swept away, she knew she couldn’t take matters to her own hands. However, as per the opinion of experts, wild animals are better left without human intervention.

Unnatural

While it’s normal for us humans to go against leaving children unsupervised for long periods, it’s considered a norm for animals to leave their young for up to 23 hours while the parents hunt for food or hoard materials for their habitat.

Contenting Resolve

It’s a pleasure to say that this story closes on a good note. Ever since the fire department’s response and the cubs’ rescue, the young foxes are now being taken care of, and soon they would also be released into the while.

Watching Out

As modernity and natural life comes to clash and cities start being built on wildland, such encounters with wildlife will become more often than they already are. Please don’t hesitate to call for the authorities when you do encounter wild animals, as they are more equipped to handle such situations.

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

Firefighters are proof that not all heroes wear capes. They think all life is worth saving and go through lengths to act upon such a belief, even if such life were that of a wild animal. They also thought of wild young foxes as puppies. The pictures below are more proof that firefighters would do what it takes to rescue animals.

Shared Concern

In times of need, it’s not only humans who feel worried about the safety of animals. Even other animals share the same anxiety. Check out this labrador worried about a rescued cat.

Guardian Angel

While oxygen masks are specifically designed for the use of humans in otherwise choking environments, there are moments where it’s animals that use it to prevent smoke inhalation. Look at this cat who seems like she’s just been rescued by an angel.

Save A Life

Firefighters put them all into the duty that they were sworn into, and sometimes they become stubborn over that, as they refuse to give up on saving as many lives as they can. As you can see here, this firefighter is giving CPR to a dog. It really doesn’t matter to these people what kind of life needs saving.

Wet Work

Rescue workers and frontlines are prepared to do anything to fulfill their duty to save lives, no matter what it takes. Despite the drowning dog’s slim chance of survival, this rescue team was determined to bring him to safety.

An Act Of Gratitude

Actions speak louder than words, and such a saying applies to not only humans but also animals. While not having the ability to speak in a way for humans to understand, this dog still showed her gratitude to the man who saved her, in a way that matters to her. Indeed, these two will end up not forgetting about each other.

Security

Though the fire continued with its destruction and they have yet to descend from the ladder, this cat was already sure he was safe in the arms of this brave firefighter.

No Place To Die

It’s a common belief that all dogs go to heaven, but these firefighters refused to let this dog go, not yet, not here. Even if the dog was ready to let himself go, these firefighters declined to give his life end right there.

Anyone In Need

No matter what kind of life requires saving, whether it be a human or a dog, a fox, a cat, a dog, or hell, even a duck, this team was willing to put their life on the line to rescue them.

Keeping A Life

Legend has it that cats have nine lives, but this fireman refused to let this kitten lose even one, and the kitten is glad that the fireman thought so. It’s unclear who’s happier in this picture.

Safe At All Cost

Having to witness a fire breakout is as traumatizing as it gets for humans, and animals are no different from feeling the horror of watching their home go down in flames.

No Matter What

In response to a call about a house fire, Nevada’s Clark County Fire Department did all they could to put it out, then went to search and save a little kitten trapped in the fiery chaos.

Trusted Hands

This picture is evidence of all there is to be a firefighter. This firefighter and the cat he rescued both look like they’ve seen quite a hell of a day, but both of them are in the safe ground now.

Cooperation

One of the main on-site demands of being a firefighter is having to retrieve animals from burning structures. Most animals end up getting stuck in rubble or wedged between debris after a fire, hurricane, flood, and other natural disasters.

True Bond

This lady’s emotions overflowed as her cat was returned to her arms. Animals are incapable of calling out in times of distress as effectively as humans do, so it’s challenging to track them down in burning sites during dire situations.

Safe Ground

Take a look at this cat in the arms of her savior. By the looks of his face, the firefighter is both exhausted and relieved of his successful rescue.

Team Effort

Firefighters have a philosophy in their line of work that “there is no ‘I’ in ‘team.’” With such a saying in mind, we can be sure that this dog’s well-being and safety is the doing of more than one man.

A Duty

No matter the fatigue and strain, firefighters, persevere to commit to the duty they were sworn into. A perfect example of this is this  Assistant Chief, who is the paradigm of what it means to be a firefighter.