Stranded Horse Rescued from Tujunga Wash Gets Copter Ride to Safety

SHADOW HILLS —  It was a genuine water-rescue operation, complete with helicopters suspended above the scene and firefighters tossing safety lines across the fast-moving Tujunga Wash.

But this rescue effort also included two veterinarians because the 7-year-old stranded on the rocky north shore of the wash was an Arabian horse named Dakota.

Tuesday’s horse rescue was the first such operation this year by Los Angeles Fire Department’s swift water rescue teams.

Though their highest priority will be human life, the crew members have increased training to rescue animals, said Capt. Jack Wise, swift-water rescue coordinator.

The need for such preparedness came to light last year when local teams assisting in rescue efforts during heavy flooding north of Sacramento helped save humans and more than 200 animals, ranging from horses and cattle to snakes.

“We feel there is a need here to deal with animals in these sorts of situations,” Wise said.

Each of the city’s four water-rescue teams has four firefighters and two county lifeguards. The crews have been deployed 29 times since the storms began in September, twice as many as the previous rain season.

In preparation for this winter’s rains the swift-water teams underwent extra training to improve their animal-rescue capabilities, including a daylong session with the Humane Society to learn about animal behavior.

To cover the deployment costs, the City Council on Tuesday approved $156,240 more to help get the teams through this winter.

“We still have young people and adults who don’t listen to wisdom and get too close to our flood channels and need to be rescued,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, urging her colleagues to approve the funds.

Tuesday’s rescue scene began just after 10 a.m. when Jacqy Gamble, Andrea Gutman and Margie Beeson went for a ride along the wash. All three women rode Arabians--Gamble on Laddie, Gutman on Chauncy, and Beeson on Dakota.

Riding along the wash’s southern edge, the trio came to what appeared to be standing water. Laddie and Chauncy crossed safely. But the soil quickly eroded under Dakota, who drifted into the fast-moving currents.

“I held on a little bit; then I let him go,” Beeson said.

Beeson got out of the water quickly, but Dakota was carried about 100 feet before he escaped onto an island.

The rescuers from two of the city’s swift-water teams first tried unsuccessfully to walk Dakota across four feet of water moving about 15 mph. They finally tranquilized the animal and strapped him into a special $3,500 harness.

His limp body was lifted by helicopter several hundred yards before being gently set down on a flat grassy spot next to Wentworth Street.

Dakota’s only injuries were a few scrapes on his legs.

“I think he’s going to do very well,” said Dr. David Wheat, a veterinarian summoned to the scene.

“We ride that trail all the time,” Gutman said. “We weren’t expecting to use all these services.”

The price tag for the rescue operation: about $10,000 in wages for rescue team members and 36 firefighters from nearby stations and the operational costs of two helicopters, Wise said.

Correspondent Sylvia Oliande contributed to this story.