Crew rescues goats from icy pond: Hadley farm pets had strayed onto Lake Warner ice
1
2
3
HADLEY - Two goats that fell through the ice on Lake Warner were rescued Monday morning, but a third goat drowned.
At about 9 a.m., Jennifer Gwozdzik, of River Drive, was driving over the bridge on Mount Warner Road when she saw the goats in distress about 30 feet from the shore, said Joe Boisvert, owner of the goats and of Sunny Brook Farm on Mount Warner Road.
Gwozdzik notified Beresford "Flower" Vincent, one of Boisvert's seasonal workers, who called his boss on his cell phone. Boisvert, who was away from the farm at the time, called the Fire Department and rushed home.
Boisvert said two neighbors and a seasonal employee helped with the rescue. He also praised the Hadley Fire Department, which arrived 10 minutes after he called.
"Everyone was doing what people do in Hadley," he said. "It's a farming community, and we take that just as seriously as if it was a human. I think we're lucky."
Neighbor James Sector, of Mount Warner Road, saw what was happening and provided lifejackets and ropes. Boisvert and Vincent got into a 12-foot plastic boat and broke through the ice. They pulled one goat into the boat who was just keeping her head above the water, then delivered her to the shore.
This goat, named Autumn, is pregnant, and by 12:30 p.m. was up and walking, he said.
They went back, and got there just in time to rescue the second goat, named Cinnamon. She was underwater for about 30 seconds, but seemed to be all right and was to be examined by veterinarian Amy Rubin.
The Fire Department arrived with an ice rescue sled and searched for the third goat, he said. But the goat, whose name he didn't know, was already under the ice, Boisvert said.
Although they were unable to rescue the third goat, Fire Capt. Michael Spankebel said the emergency provided local firefighters an opportunity to use ice-rescue equipment in the field.
"We are well-prepared for situations like this. We train for this sort of thing on an annual basis," Spanknebel said. "We actually have a drill scheduled soon because of the quick cold that came in recently, and because now is the season that will be dangerous for people who are going to be out there ice fishing."
Although the two firefighters who donned the department's water rescue suits didn't hit the water in search of the third goat, Spanknebel said having them there to watch over amateur rescuers was equally important.
"It's good to have them there as backup for the people who went out there in their boats," Spankebel said, "because in emergency situations like these sometimes people can get excited and they don't always concentrate as much as they should."
Boisvert has about 20 goats, which are kept as pets. The farm operates a petting zoo in the summer, he said.
He doesn't have a fence along the bank, and plans to put them in a different part of the farm when the ice on the lake is thin next year, he said. A temporary fence has been put up in the meantime.
"Goats are very curious," he said. "They just got mischievous today."
Staff writer Owen Boss contributed to this report.
