A fireman rescued 8 labrador puppies from a drainage pit, and suddenly realized they were not dogs at all

Animal rescue can be both difficult and stressful.

Sometimes the spoken animal is trapped in strange and hard places to reach. It can either be high on a tree, sometimes within a thorny bush - and in the worst cases, puppies have been abandoned or left by their mother in the smallest places to reach.

In these situations, the rescuers have to be careful and dedicated.

Maybe that's why firemen do an excellent job in rescuing trapped animals.

When firefighter Brian Vaughan received the call, he immediately realized it was a state of emergency.

8 small puppies were trapped in a drainage pit. Those who called the firemen believed that the dispatch of black labrador pups had been abandoned in the pipeline by their owners.

20 minutes after the firefighters arrived, all the puppies were rescued from the drainage pit. They didn't seem to have been injured and were then taken to the Humane Rescue shelter.

But it was only when the puppies arrived to the shelter, that the firemen realized they were not puppies at all. In fact, the black puppies became red lumps.

"One of the veterinarians said: 'No, these are not Labradors, they are foxes'", Vaughan said.

Foxes are very common in the areas around the Rocky Mountains, where the moor is located.

Travis Sauder, director of the Colorado Nature Reserve, said he was not surprised that the firefighters had received the call. Nor was he surprised that the foxes were where they had been found.

These firefighters in rescued what they thought were puppies from a storm drain… but it turns out they're red foxes!
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Reporter @AbeytaCBS4 shares the story: https://t.co/ubpMJjjj8h
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"At this time of year, many animals are giving birth and they are doing it in small holes and places", Sauder said.

According to Sauder, the foxes will be returned to the drainage pit in the hope that their mother will come back and take care of them.

"These cubs will be returned to the place where we found them in the hope that the mother is still in the area and she will be able to continue raising them", Sauder said.

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Misidentification such as in this case is certainly a common thing, so the best thing is to contact a specialist before trying to do something alone. Unfortunately, good intentions sometimes make things worse for wildlife, as in this case.

We hope that the mother is still around the area and that she and her puppies will be able to unite.