Roodepoort security companies help get Diva the mare out of a slippery situation

Through teamwork and perseverance, a group of community heroes helped rescue Diva, who had accidentally fallen into her owner’s pool.

On November 11, a call to aid was sent out to the Civilian Crime Intervention Network’s West Rand Operational Communications Centre via their WhatsApp group, and within minutes BCI Security’s Lionel Gafney and GP Tactical’s Quinton Young arrived on the scene. Assessing the situation, Young immediately jumped into the pool and helped calm the mare.

“I worked in the States some time ago on a cattle ranch so this wasn’t my first rodeo when it comes to horses,” he explained. Young noticed Diva’s owners tried their best to make the side of the pool safe for their beloved horse to get out, by placing sandbags and bags filled with rocks inside the pool along the edge as well as placing duvets on the sharp corners. “We got her out within an hour, by simply using wood pallets and placing them in such a way as to act as a ramp,” he added.

Diva sustained superficial wounds to her legs, mostly scratches from her attempts to get out without help, but is up and running, back to her cheeky self. Her owner explained that Muldersdrift Animal Clinic’s Dr Bianca van der Merwe immediately came out and assessed and treated Diva’s wounds.

Although Diva’s owner has asked to remain anonymous, she exclaimed that the true heroes of this story are the people who did not hesitate to jump in and save her beloved animal. She gifted them each a box of goodies, although the gratitude she feels towards them can not be quantified by earthly things.

“I hope this story will help my fellow equestrians if they ever find themselves in a situation like this,” she said, “this was a nightmare situation and they turned it around and helped save my Diva.”