A donkey in Ireland has been towed to safety after being stranded for 12 hours due to severe flooding.
The eight-year-old escaped from his field in Killorglin, Co. Kerry, when the River Laune burst its banks on Sunday (6 December).
His owner tried contacting search and rescue but they were unable to help, so Suzanne Gibbons, owner of Animal Heaven Animal Rescue in Crag, Castleisland, offered her assistance.
With the help of Mike Flemming of Killorglin Rowing Club and volunteer Declan Flemming, Suzanne headed out to the donkey in a small motorised boat at 12.45pm.
“As we travelled up the river we realised we were in serious danger,” Suzanne told H&H. “But we knew only had an hour before the floods got worse, so we wanted to give him a chance.
“When we got to the donkey we saw that if he stepped a couple of inches in either direction he would have drowned.
“We attached an orange life ring onto his body to help him stay afloat and towed him to the shore.
“He just lay there — he knew we were saving him.”
The donkey was towed for 30 minutes before he reached dry ground.
“His owner was crying and jumping up and down when he saw us coming back with him,” said Suzanne.
“The donkey was very shell-shocked and exhausted as had been trapped for around 12 hours.
“We named him Mike after his hero who had brought the boat out for him.”
Mike was taken to the rescue centre where he was seen by a vet and was put on antibiotics to prevent pneumonia.
“He has a small amount of fluid in one lung but our vet said he will recover — all he needs is loads of TLC,” added Suzanne.
