On Wednesday last week, the Ardennes horse Remma disappeared from her summer pasture in Blackstad, something Västerviks newspaper was the first to report on. The owner Jens Jackowski was not very worried at first but thought that the horse would return to the paddock within a few hours
– Animals sometimes tear themselves away from the pasture. It only takes one wild boar to break a few posts and then the horse will come out, but in 90 percent of the cases it is undramatic and they will return within a few hours. We were extremely unlucky, says Jens Jackowski to TV4 Nyheterna.
Wanted on Facebook
Remma had only been in the paddock for a week. Therefore, Jens thought that Remma would go back home to her usual environment, barely five kilometers away.
But when Remma had not been found the following morning, Jens made a search request on Facebook. And the response was huge.
One who heard about the disappearance was Anna Thalin, owner of the Eurasian bitches, also mother and daughter, Lucy, 8 years old and Doris, 1 year old. Lucy has previously helped in search operations and, together with her mother, found missing cows stuck in marshes.
– I thought we must try to help, says Anna Thalin.
The dogs Doris and Lucy sniffed out the missing horse Remma.
The dogs Doris and Lucy sniffed out the missing horse Remma.
Photo: Jocke Karlsson
“Only the head stuck up”
After just an hour of searching, the long-awaited news arrived. Lucy and Doris had found Remma.
– They found her stuck in an old forest ditch, only her head was sticking up, says Jens Jackowski.
But it was not a simple mission to get her out of the swamp.
– The rescue service with five or six men tried to pull her up but it didn’t work. We need a forest machine was my first thought.
Five hours, two excavators and a scooter later, they managed to pull Remma out of the thick muck.
“Would have died if we hadn’t found her”
Today Remma feels well and is back in the paddock with her friends.
Today Remma feels well and is back in the paddock with her friends.
Photo: Jens Jackowski
Now, a week later, Remma is fine and she doesn’t seem to have had any mental problems after the incident, Jens thinks.
– You notice that she has joint pain, but not at all traumatic.
Jens is grateful for Doris and Lucy, who quickly managed to sniff out Remma.
– She wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for the dogs. She would have died if we hadn’t found her.
And the heroes Lucy and Doris were a little extra spoiled that evening.
– They got some extra sweets and mother was very proud, says Anna Thalin.