Bill Teitzel, center, a supervisor at Lewis County Public Health & Social Services, helps volunteers and emergency responders lead a horse out of deep mud beside a house on the 2500 block of state Route 508 east of Onalaska on Tuesday afternoon. It took nearly a dozen people over 30 minutes to get the horse out of the neck-deep mud and back on dry ground.
Chance Prosser, of Onalaska, kisses a horse that was rescued from neck-deep mud near a house east of Onalaska on Tuesday afternoon. Prosser, who said he has been around horses his entire life, was one of a half-dozen volunteers who helped remove the young horse.
First responders and volunteers help remove a horse from neck-deep mud at a house on the 2500 block of state Route 508 on Tuesday afternoon east of Onalaska.
Caked in mud, a young horse stands on solid ground after being rescued from neck-deep mud east of Onalaska on Tuesday afternoon.
Chance Prosser, of Onalaska, uses an eye dropper to get mud out of the eye of a horse that was rescued from neck-deep mud near a house east of Onalaska on Tuesday afternoon.
Caked in mud, a young, emaciated horse stands on solid ground after being rescued from neck-deep mud east of Onalaska on Tuesday afternoon.
Onalaska fire crews, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies, county staff and bystanders came together Tuesday afternoon to rescue a horse trapped in deep, sticky mud.
The Sheriff’s Office dispatched its first deputy just after 1 p.m. to the home in the 2500 block of state Route 508 near Onalaska.
Lewis County Public Health staff started shoveling mud away from the horse about an hour and a half later.
The horse was thin and shaky, and had visible sores on its body. Several people helped the horse as it struggled to stay upright following the rescue.
Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ken Cheeseman said the incident is under investigation.
Bill Teitzel, supervisor of the environmental services division of Lewis County Public Health, said code enforcement officers have previously responded to complaints at the property.
“I have been out here before with the sheriff’s office,” he said.
When fire crews responded, the horse was on its side in the mud, which was more than a foot deep, according to Chief Andrew Martin of Lewis County Fire District 1.
“It’s side was as deep as the mud was,” Martin said.
Firefighters worked with a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Lewis County Public Health staff, and bystanders to lift the small, young horse with straps. Then they slid boards under the horse to give it something solid to stand on, and helped the animal stay on its feet.
The horse was walking around by about 4 p.m.
Martin said the district occasionally responds to help trapped animals, such as horses.
Teitzel said his staff will return to do health checks on the remaining eight or nine horses on the property. They’ll score the horses based on their weight and overall health, he said.
“We’re going to be addressing the rest of the animals and their conditions,” he said. “In the past when we’ve been out here, body scores have been pretty good.”
Lewis County Public Health has recently increased its humane officer position from 20 hours per week to 40 hours, to deal with a volume and backlog of animal neglect reports, Teitzel said.
“I think that’s going to be a great help,” he said.
