Portsmouth puppy stuck in reclining chair among RSPCA's best rescues of year
THE RSPCA has rescued animals large and small this year, with creatures turning up in unexpected and very silly situations – including a Portsmouth puppy stuck in a reclining chair.
The animal welfare charity has compiled its 20 ‘best rescues’ of 2020, including a squirrel discovered behind a fridge, and an unfortunate fox found with its head stuck in a watering can.
A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said the charity hoped the fun animal rescues would provide some cheer ‘after this challenging year’.
Among those in the top 20 was an eight-week old cockapoo puppy nicknamed Pudding by his rescuers, who was found wedged under a reclining chair in October.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service rescued Pudding unharmed at the home in Portsmouth after his fur got caught in the mechanism of the chair.
Other notable incidents included a lamb who fell through a broken manhole. Rescuers from the RSPCA, fire service and local farmers in Durham saved a lamb who had fallen down a broken manhole in May.
A fox with a watering can stuck on its head was found in Sevenoaks, Kent, in April. Officer Lynn White said: ‘This poor fox had probably got stuck while he was trying to get some water out of the can. He was very exhausted from trying to remove it himself.
‘I wasn’t sure how best to get him out – but then I remembered I had some Vaseline in my van and so I used that on his neck and then I was able to slide him out of the can.’
A seal was found among the treadmills at a gym equipment warehouse in Llanelli when they arrived at work in December. Staff ushered it out and back into the river, where it was collected by an RSPCA inspector.
A newborn calf was found stuck in a boggy pond that had dried up in May, and began to sink into the mud.
Inspector Ryan King was called to Rochdale after a tram driver spotted the calf.
He said: ‘I managed to get a towel under his nose to keep his head above the mud and water and make sure he could breathe while I set about freeing him.’
A billy goat was found at a bus stop in Bradford in June after it was seen wandering through gardens.
Inspector Emily Stodart said: ‘It’s certainly not something you see every day.
‘When we got there, we found he had been making his way through a few gardens before stopping at the bus stop.’