According to the veterinary doctor at the veterinary complex of the Lutheran University of Brazil (Ulbra), Marisangela da Costa Allgayer, Candy is getting equine fluid therapy treatment. The procedure aims to alleviate the symptoms of dehydration of the animal, which passed four days without access to drinking water. The brown horse had been swinging for four days between two narrow stretches of asbestos sheets in Canoas, a city in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, which is one of the hardest hit areas in the state, much of which has been isolated by flooding.
11 people – including firefighters and veterinarians – and five boats participated in the removal of the horse. According to the Public Security Secretariat of San Pablo (SSP), in the morning, professionals traveled with two boats to the region where the horse was stranded. The horse was four kilometers from the starting point of the flood.
The first step was approach the animal and perform sedation, to prevent the animal from getting hurt or nervous in the presence of humans. With the help of a veterinarian, sedation was applied, the SSP said.
“We found the animal in a state of weakness,” said Capt. Tiago Franco, a Sao Paulo firefighter who was sent to lead the rescue, according to a statement from the state security secretariat. “We try to approach it calmly.”
“We try to approach calmly, We applied physical restraint, the veterinarians came with the medications, after sedating him, we placed the horse in a life raft and carried out the extraction safely.”said the captain.
The animal, 350 kiloswas placed in the boat and a tour continued for almost half an hour four kilometers until reaching the dry area of the city. At the scene, a vehicle from the San Pablo Fire Department dragged the boat to a Military Brigade truck. The animal, still sedated, was transferred to Ulbra to receive the necessary care.
Janja, the wife of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, published a video where he shares the good news with the Brazilian president, whispering in his ear during an official event. He smiled, gave a thumbs up and hugged her.. The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, also celebrated the rescue, and published in X: “All lives matter, we remain steadfast.”
Caramelo is about 7 years old and, based on its characteristics, it was possibly used as a draft animal for a carriage, said Bruno Schmitz, one of the veterinarians who helped in the rescue and evaluation of the horse, in statements to the GloboNews television network. He is also very calm, he added, which helped a lot so that sedatives could be administered.
“Was a very complicated operation, well above the standards of even specialized equipment. I don’t think they’ve ever been through something like this before, but thank God everything turned out well,” he declared before showing Caramelo standing up.
The horse is just one of the many animals that rescuers have fought to save in recent days. State agents of Rio Grande do Sul have rescued about 10,000 animals since last week, while those from the municipalities and volunteers have rescued thousands more, according to the state housing secretary.
Animal protection groups and volunteers have shared images of rescues and scenes of pets reuniting with their owners on social media. In a video that went viral, A man appears crying on a boat, hugging his four dogs after rescuers returned to his house to save them.
Heavy rains and flooding in Rio Grande do Sul have caused the death of at least 116 people. Another 136 are reported missing and more than 230,000 have been displaced, according to state authorities. There is no official number of dead or lost animals, but local media estimate the number to be several thousand.
Meanwhile, time gives no respite: Rain covered Porto Alegre again this Friday as the population struggled to regain some normality, At the same time, the number of people evacuated due to the floods doubled in the last few hours.
The weather forecast is also discouraging for the next few days. The main meteorological and geological institutes warned that a cold front that will reach Rio Grande do Sul this Friday will aggravate the flooding situation.
“Between Friday and Monday, The rains will be more intense in the center-east and northeast of the state, including the metropolitan region of the capital, Porto Alegre, where some Guaíba hydrographic basins are located.. Rainfall during this period could exceed 150 mm, a condition that could make the situation in the state even worse“, highlights the note.
Besides, The passage of the new cold front could even cause the formation of an extratropical cyclone near the coast, which would cause an increase in winds coming from the east, hindering the flow of the waters of the Patos Lagoon towards the ocean.
“In the coming days, this cold front and the subsequent entry of a cold, dry air mass will cause a drop in temperatures and the possibility of rain next week”, informs the analysis of the organizations.
Currently, according to the institutes, The Taquari, Caí and Sinos rivers continue to slowly return to their normal levels, as well as the entire Jacuí delta region. However, due to the speed and direction of the winds, there is a situation of stability with a slight upward trend in the level of Lake Guaíba, in Greater Porto Alegre. In the coming days, the return of rains to the metropolitan region and north of Rio Grande do Sul could increase the volume of water reaching the lake.
With 143 people still missing, The authorities fear that the total number of victims will continue to increase, as the region braces for “heavy” rainfall over the weekend. The number of people forced to leave their homes due to the catastrophe – which experts and the Brazilian government link to climate change – almost doubled in the last 24 hours.
According to The latest Civil Defense balance, 408,000 people left their homes, of which more than 70,000 are in shelter centers. In some of them, the authorities are trying to establish order after reports of theft and violence.
Source: Ambito
