KGUN 9News

Actions

Cowboys ride to rescue of deer trapped in canal

Posted at 3:18 PM, Dec 18, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-18 17:18:40-05
 
Deer canal rescue Posted by Arizona Game and Fish Department on Thursday, December 17, 2015

Two cowboys are being credited with coming to the rescue of a deer stuck in an Arizona canal.
    
The state Game and Fish Department received several calls Thursday reporting a deer was trapped in a canal near Lake Pleasant, northwest of Phoenix.
    
The animal apparently slipped into the cold water and couldn't scale the canal's steep, concrete walls to get out.
    
Game and Fish officer Reuben Gonzales says two cowboys with lassos happened by and stopped at the scene to help.

Video the agency posted on Facebook shows one man standing on a bridge above the canal and dropping a lasso around the deer's antlers as it swims below.

Gonzales says Game and Fish officers then carried the stressed, shivering animal out of the water and loaded it into a truck. They then took it to Lake Pleasant Regional Park and released it.
    
The deer regained its composure after about 20 minutes and ran off.