"We kind of looked at each other ... they can't be
serious," said Jon Hardy, a lieutenant with the department.
The department was covering calls for Louisville, Neb.,
that night because the area's emergency teams were attending a recognition
dinner. Members of Elmwood Volunteer Fire and Rescue and Cass County Sheriff’s
Office also responded to the call.
And, sure enough, a big dog up a tree is what they found.
No one saw how Kora, the Great Dane who is a quarter
Mastiff, got up the tree, but there's suspicion she was chasing a raccoon.
After her owner got home from dinner, she couldn't find the dog. Sounds of
whimpering led her to a tree in her backyard, where she spotted her stranded
pup. A friend of the owner climbed the tree to comfort the dog until the fire
and rescue teams arrived.
First, the 15 responders tried to help Kora down the same
way she got up with the assistance of a chest harness and a ladder. Kora wasn't
having it.
Next, someone attached a leash to the harness. Then,
rescuers stretched out a tarp as a safety net. They nudged the dog off of the
branch.
"She never hit the ground," Hardy said. "It
worked like we hoped."
The dog ran into her house like nothing happened, he said.
It's a rescue he will never forget.
"I’ve been doing this 12 years and this is first dog
we got out of a tree," Hardy said.
