CASCO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Authorities say a horse ultimately died after becoming trapped in a sinkhole near South Haven.
Around 4 a.m. Monday, South Haven Area Emergency Services was called to a home on Blue Star Highway near 106th Avenue in Casco Township, north of South Haven. There, they found a 32-year-old Arabian horse named Tea Cup, stuck in a hole with only its head showing.
The new homeowners said they were alerted to the horse’s situation by their dog and donkey, who woke them up by “making a ruckus,” according to authorities.
Firefighters determined Tea Cup, who recently arrived on the property, had fallen into an old septic tank access hole. After some digging, crews discovered the horse was stuck in a large cement collar.
South Haven city workers arrived with a backhoe and Harbor Towing Company was also called in to help. It took rescuers an hour and 45 minutes to free the horse. Firefighters then spent another 90 minutes warming and drying off Tea Cup.
Unfortunately, a veterinarian determined the old horse’s heart was too weak to survive, and Tea Cup was euthanized.