Sylmar : Livestock Rescuers Recognized for Work

When the call came in the middle of the night of Feb. 24, the news was pretty bad, Teri Jones remembered. A tractor-trailer hauling 143 cattle had overturned on the Foothill Freeway in Sylmar.

Over the next eight hours, Jones and her volunteer Equine Emergency Response Team worked alongside officers from the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation to save nearly 70 cows.

On Monday, the city’s Animal Regulation Commission thanked more than two dozen men and women from both organizations in a downtown Los Angeles ceremony, citing them for “bravery, skill and dedication” during the predawn operation.

“It was very nice to have the organization recognized,” Jones said afterward. “It’s come a long way.”

Formed two years ago by Jones, a Sylmar resident and horse enthusiast, the group helps rescue injured livestock throughout the city, showing up in trucks laden with equipment. During the cattle catastrophe, rescuers used crowbars and sledgehammers to free the surviving animals that were trapped in the overturned 18-wheeler.

“The biggest challenge was getting the dead off the live ones,” she said.

For Jones, Monday’s recognition was particularly satisfying, she said. Not only was it the first time she’d been officially thanked but it also represented a validation of the teamwork between her group and the Department of Animal Regulation.

“I think they see how important it is,” she said of the response team. “If we hadn’t been there, it would have been a big mess.”