Man is dogs’ — and a deer’s — best friend during Tulare County animal rescues

A dog might be man’s best friend, but those roles were reversed in Tulare County on Saturday night when the Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department and Animal Control teamed to save two pooches that had become stranded in a ponding basin just outside Pixley.

For good measure, a deer also was pulled to safety the same day.

The dogs, one a German Shepard mix and the other a mixed breed, according to a Tulare County fire official, could not be reached without assistance from the Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team, which used its boat to reach the stranded canines near the area of Road 120 and Avenue 112.

A firefighter was able to get both into the boat and return to shore, where the dogs were placed into the care of Animal Control.

Public pitches in to help deer

It was the second animal rescue of the day in Tulare County – the Fire Department and Animal Control (with an assist from two local residents, Cindy and Marty Williamson) also pulled a small black tailed spike deer from the Friant-Kern Canal near Exeter.

An official from the Department of Fish and Game arrived to assist and once out of the canal was able to verify the deer was uninjured. After it was released, the deer scrambled to its feet and went scampering away.

This story was originally published July 18, 2021 at 1:35 PM.