600 Pound Cow Recovered After Plunging 24 Feet Into a Well - Photos

The owners say they aren't sure whether they should name the newly purchased Angus Miracle or Jessica.

Photos by: Troy Buzalsky/Canby Fire

(CANBY) - A cow that fell nearly twenty five feet into a well, kept Canby firefighters and a support team busy for several hours on Sunday. Crews were called to 2742 SE Territorial Road, in Canby at 10:30 this morning.

When crews arrived they were directed into the location by the cow's owners, Tony and Bev Pezl. Canby Firefighters found that the 600 pound Angus Cow had broken through a series of railroad ties, then fallen into the well.

Lacking the necessary resources, the Incident Commander requested assistance from the local Urban Search and Rescue Team, which is staffed by Clackamas Fire. He also requested a tow truck/crane and a veterinarian.

Once all the resources arrived, the team quickly put a plan together which included providing supplemental air into the below grade well, and monitoring oxygen levels with a special remote air sampling equipment.

"We are treating this as an OSHA confined space rescue," stated Battalion Chief John Oliver, who supervised the USAR teams.

To be OSHA compliant, there are many key roles that must be staffed, including an Incident Commander, Safety Officer an Entry Team, a Rapid Intervention Team, and several attendants monitoring belay ropes, the well's edge, and monitoring the air.

Hazelton enters the well to assist

Clackamas Firefighter Steve Hazelton was assigned to enter the wells shaft, medicate the cow with a veterinarian provided tranquilizer, and attempt to feed a lifting strap under the cow, so a crane could vertically lift it from the confines of the 24-foot deep abandoned well.

Veterinarian Brian Dietrich advised rescuers that it would take about five minutes for the tranquilizer to take effect, and then would last 30 minutes. Hazelton gave the cow an initial does, and then another half dose before the big lift.

Once the rescue strap was in place, rescue crews were pulled from in and around the well, and a landing area was made for the cow. The cow was lifted from the hole at 2:09 PM, three hours and thirty-eight minutes after rescuers were first summoned.

"In an emergency, every second counts," stated Incident Commander Ted Kunze. "In this case our teams carefully calculated the risk and benefit, and did not rush the rescue…rescuer safety was a high priority."

As of 3:00 PM, the cow has fully regained consciousness, and does not appear to have any serious injuries which left the whole incident on a very upbeat tone.

"The cow is a new addition to our family," stated Bev Pelz. "We have not even named her yet, we're thinking either Miracle, for obvious reasons, or maybe Jessica, named after the girl who was rescued from the well."