Crime & Safety

Update: Cocoa the Horse Freed From Mud Near Woodinville Home

The Woodinville Fire Department is working with King County Search and Rescue, the Washington State Animal Response Team and firefighters from Kirkland and Redmond to bring the animal to safety.

Update, 2:45 p.m.: Cocoa the horse has been freed from the mud and is being monitored as crews wait for the sedatives she was given to wear off.
Sgt. Cindi West of the King County Sheriff's Office said her exact condition remains unclear at this time, but the Washington State Animal Response Team posted this message on its Facebook page just after 2 p.m.:

"Success! The horse is out! She's exhausted but she's up and walking and she's being well taken care of. I'm told that besides the WASART team, there were about 18-20 firefighters on site from two different fire departments and another 15-20 volunteers from King County's Explorer SAR unit. Maybe others but I haven't heard about them yet. But the girl is out and that's the goal we were all trying to achieve. Congrats, everyone!"

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Update, 10:45 a.m.: 
King County Search and Rescue and the Washington State Animal Response Team have joined firefighters in working to remove a horse stuck in the mud behind a Woodinville home.
Sgt. Cindi West of the King County Sheriff's Office said crews are using ropes and harnesses to remove the horse but have not been successful yet. A small backhoe is also hauling in gravel to fill in some of the mud and create a path for the horse—whose name is Cocoa—to step out.

"It’s going to be awhile,” West said, adding that Cocoa is currently lying down and resting in the mud.

It's unclear at this point how the horse got stuck, but West said the owner's property has a small trail leading to a wooded area that becomes muddy very quickly.
Both King County Search and Rescue and the Washington State Animal Response Team took part in a horse rescue in Redmond just under a month ago. In that incident, rescuers safely lifted Gemma the Norwegian Fjord out of a 70-foot ravine on Novelty Hill.

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Original post, 9:30 a.m.:
 Fire crews from Woodinville, Kirkland and Redmond are attempting to remove a horse that has become stuck in the mud near a Woodinville home.

Sgt. Cindi West of the King County Sheriff's Office said first-responders received a call at around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning from a home in the 14400 block of 186th Place NE.

The horse is reportedly stuck in mud up to its back, and crews are using "technical rescue skills and equipment" to attempt to free the animal, according to a post on the Kirkland Firefighters Facebook page.

This is a developing story. Patch will post additional details when they are available.


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