MASONTOWN, W.Va. — It took a 7-hour effort by more than 2 dozen volunteers to rescue a Preston County farmer’s trapped cow.
According to the Preston County Animal Shelter, 911 received a call Thursday that a 2-year-old Hereford, that had recently given birth, could be in distress after she was discovered over a steep embankment.
Following a veterinarian’s assessment, a rescue effort got underway to retrieve the cow after a more than 350 foot fall into a rocky laurel thicket.
In a public thank you on social media, animal shelter officials credited “Masontown Volunteer Fire Department, Cheat Lake VFD, Newburg VFD, Kingwood VFD, KAMP Ambulance, Snyder’s Towing, and area neighbors” for providing manpower, equipment and direction to get the cow to safety.
The rescue required the clearing of an impassable road to get to the cow followed by manually pulling her over a creek and up the steep incline to safety.
The effort is documented in photos and video on the PCAS facebook page.