The Louisiana State Animal Response Team (LSART) partnered with local Ouachita Parish officials and Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries to rescue and evacuate a geriatric horse from the rising floodwaters of the Ouachita River on Nov. 9, 2009, in West Monroe, La. Horse owner Tess Cooper had contacted her veterinarian, Dr. Jay Wharford, and asked for his assistance in moving the horse from flooded land near her home to dry ground where he could receive care and food.

Wharford contacted LSART Equine Branch Director, Rebecca McConnico, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, of the Equine Health Studies Program (EHSP) at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (LSU SVM), for assistance. From there, McConnico and LSART Director Renee Poirrier, DVM, coordinated with parish officials, and a plan was put into place to coordinate the rescue using a pontoon boat provided by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries before the threatening Hurricane Ida hit coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico (possibly including areas of Louisiana already flooded).

The LSART team met with Parish Animal Control Officers and Wildlife & Fisheries agents to plan their approach.

McConnico called for the team to boat over to the location where the horse was stranded to further refine the operations plan. They reviewed the situation and performed a thorough physical exam on the horse, a more than 25-year-old Quarter Horse named “Doc.” The veterinarians determined Doc was healthy enough to withstand general anesthesia and a boat ride to dry ground. They advised his owner of the possible risks of anesthesia and boat transport, as well as the possibility of halting the mission in the event of human life endangerment