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91ƵHello, 911? There91Ƶs a horse in my living room91Ƶ

Sproat Lake firefighters called to 91Ƶrescue91Ƶ quarter-horse from Alberni Valley house
13695859_web1_Happy-the-horse-in-house-26sept18
Happy, a three-month-old quarter-horse, peers out from owner Terry Galloway91Ƶs home west of Port Alberni on Monday (Sept. 24) after following a friend into Galloway91Ƶs livingroom. Happy had to be rescued by members from the Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department. SUBMITTED PHOTO

When Happy the quarter-horse decided she hadn91Ƶt had enough attention from a human visitor, she decided to bring the attention to herself91Ƶby walking into her owner91Ƶs Great Central Lake living room and demanding it.

Happy, just three months old, only joined the Galloway family of Port Alberni a couple of months ago, from a farm in Manitoba. Rather than acting like a typical horse, Happy is more like a lapdog91Ƶa 300-pound lapdog, says owner Terry Galloway.

A friend of the family had given Happy a pat in the backyard when she realized she had forgotten something in the house. 91ƵMy friend walked in the house, up the stairs, down the hall and into the living room, and the horse did too,91Ƶ Galloway said.

91ƵIt took Happy less than three seconds to get up those (seven) stairs.91Ƶ

Galloway didn91Ƶt know what to do about the horse standing in the middle of her living room, so she called 911.

91ƵThe dispatcher said is the horse panicked and I said the horse is having a nap. She91Ƶs standing right where she came up.

91ƵIt was hilarious in a way, but so scary.91Ƶ

The rescue was one of a kind for Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Dept. firefighter Dallas Cann and her colleagues too.

91ƵIt was a fairly unique situation for us to be paged out on,91Ƶ said Cann, who is also a farrier91Ƶsomeone who trims horses91Ƶ hooves and fits them for horseshoes.

Cann is off work at the moment with a broken leg, and isn91Ƶt able to go out on fire calls. However, SLVFD duty officer Chris Wynans called her when he heard there was a horse involved and asked if she could at least tag along. She was one of four firefighters who headed out to Galloway91Ƶs place.

91ƵNone of the other people in that hall, or even the whole fire department have experience with horses,91Ƶ she explained.

The challenge once they got to the house was how to get Happy back down the stairs and out of the house. Horses can handle obstacles like stairs, Cann said, if they aren91Ƶt panicked.

Firefighters along with the help of Mike Hobson, an experienced horse handler, wrapped a rope around the front of the horse in case she needed assistance. 91ƵShe made it down by herself,91Ƶ Cann said.

91ƵI don91Ƶt know if was easier for her or scarier for us to watch.91Ƶ

editor@albernivalleynews.com

13695859_web1_Happy-the-horse-livingroom-26sept18
Happy the three-month-old quarter-horse stands in the middle of Terry Galloway91Ƶs living room in her house west of Port Alberni on Monday, Sept. 24, 2018. SUBMITTED PHOTO/ BLACK PRESS


Susie Quinn

About the Author: Susie Quinn

A journalist since 1987, I have been the Alberni Valley News editor since August 2006.
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