A mare stranded for four days amid the floods that hit Rio Grande do Sul was rescued this Thursday (9) by men from the São Paulo Military Fire Department. The animal was sedated by the military and then placed in a boat. The situation of the mare, which remained standing on the roof of a house surrounded by water in the municipality of Canoas (RS), generated commotion on social media.
According to the Animal Disaster Response Group (GRAD), more than 2,000 animals have been rescued since the start of the floods recorded in the south of the country at the end of April. In addition to the mare, named Caramelo on social media, dogs, cats, chickens and pigs were also rescued. Logistics is not simple and involves several professionals.
Mare Caramelo spent four days stranded on a roof before being rescued – RS Fire Department
“Rescue is an important step, but it is not the only one. There needs to be an organization after rescues in disaster scenarios, until the animals are sheltered or handed over to their families,” the group detailed on social media.
O post shows the animals undergoing initial screening, as they were exposed to long periods of fasting and the risk of hypothermia.
In addition to volunteers to continue operations, the entity needs donations to offer better conditions to animals already rescued. The most urgent items include houses and beds, due to the cold, and anti-flea medications. The group also calls for vaccines for dogs and readers microchip animal.
“The rescues don’t stop, the weather forecast is not good and we are stretching our arms beyond what we can reach. This is because we count on our support network that always helps us move forward”, the group posted on social media. For anyone who wants to help, GRAD has made the following Pix key available: 54.465.282/0001-21.
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Veterinarian Carla Sássi works as a GRAD volunteer in animal rescue operations in Rio Grande do Sul. On social media, she says that she came across another horse stranded in the same city where Caramelo was rescued. The animal had been trapped in the waters for four days and was medicated and fed before the rescue could be carried out.
“To remove this animal from here, it would only be by aircraft because we are far from any point where it could swim. Unfortunately, due to the water, we cannot get this animal out of here. We would need an aircraft that can support up to 500 kilos and that has a net that can also support that weight,” he said. The animal was rescued a few hours later.
Activist and animal defender Luisa Mell participated in the rescue and reports, on social media, the difficulty in helping animals affected by the floods. The challenges range from animals still chained to the gates of the houses where they lived to locked windows that need to be broken down so that volunteers can carry out the rescue.
In some cases, it is necessary for the owner himself to enter the boat and participate in the operation, in an attempt to keep the animal calm and the volunteers safe. A border collie dog and another pitbull dog were rescued by the activist in this way. Upon returning to the shelter, the team saw two more dogs, one of them lying on a pile of bricks.
“It’s all very, very, very difficult. And we still have to, later, come together to find owners for these rescued animals. We have to find the owners of these animals and, for those that are not adopted, we have to find temporary homes, adoption”, said Luisa.
