When a horse lost amid the 3,043-acre Mill, Calif., fire happened upon a band of tired firefighters July 15, it was the most fortuitous encounter of his life. The firefighters, local veterinarian Sheri Cronin, DVM, and John Madigan, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, director of the large animal hospital at the University of California, Davis, collaborated to rescue the horse, whom the firefighters nicknamed Mr. Ed.

Madigan and his team have airlifted horses by helicopter from inaccessible spots up and down the state and as far away as North Carolina via the UC Davis-Anderson Sling that he, Charles Anderson, and Richard Morgan developed. In this case, the helicopter rescue wasn’t needed, but Madigan had people and equipment ready to go just in case.

“Dr. Cronin telephoned me and said that they were taking her into the area by helicopter,” Madigan said. “She asked me what to do if she had to have the horse flown out–sedation protocol and safety things.”

The horse had suffered dehydration as well as abrasions on his front legs during his ordeal. Firefighters fed him apples and let him drink from a creek before Cronin arrived and evaluated him. Cronin knew where the horse belonged, and on July 16 a couple of firefighters led him home on an all-day journey