Worcester County, Md. -- Over the weekend, a bull wandered off his farm in Pocomoke and got stuck in a swimming pool. What ensued can only be described as a wild and wacky rescue effort.
On Monday, Leroy, a 1700-pound bull, was happy as can be, surrounded by all his cattle friends at his home in Pocomoke. Just 48 hours ago, though, Leroy was in a very, very different situation.
At some point on Saturday, Leroy escaped from his enclosure. His owner, Gary Pilchard, believes that's when the bull went looking for a quick snack, only to end up a few hundred feet away in a below-ground pool.
"The pool's not be used for five years now, we haven't uncovered it for I think it's five years," said Pilchard. "So there was sediment on top with some green stuff growing on it, so old Leroy sees that and says 'oh, I'm going to go out there and get something different,' and splash."
Pilchard said he and his wife were away on business when this happened.
"As I land, I get the text message from my neighbor, 'the cows are out,' so I called my son, and he said, 'I'm heading up there,'" said Pilchard. "Well, then like five minutes[later], I get another message from my neighbor, 'one of the cows fell in the pool,' and I'm like, 'oh no.'"
Crews from the Girdletree Volunteer Fire Company, Stockton Volunteer Fire Company, Pocomoke Volunteer Fire Company and the Worcester County Sheriff's Office were called in to help.
Bobby Bell, Stockton's Assistant Fire Chief, said they all had one goal, or perhaps one question, in mind.
"First and foremost, how are we going to get this thing out of the swimming pool, safely," said Bell.
Crews started by emptying some of the water inside the pool. Then, they got the backhoe in place. Once everyone was ready to go, including a few crew members down in the pool with Leroy, it was go time.
Using the heavy machinery, a few heavy-duty straps and a lot of teamwork, Leroy was hoisted out of the pool and landed safely on the pool deck.
"Kudos to the fire department for everything they did, kudos to them for helping out in a different situation," said Pilchard, emphasizing the word 'different.' "It's not every day you have to do that, and I hope I never see it happen again."
Pilchard said he's going with bright blue, or at least something less grass-colored when he gets a new pool cover.