Photo Gallery Rescuing Murphy the Cat
Firefighters in the western German town of Windeck responded to an unusual call in December 2012. A cow on its way to be butchered escaped and ended up falling into a frozen swimming pool. In the end, a tractor had to pull the cow out of the pool.
A mare was pulled from a frozen pond in the eastern German state of Thuringia in December.
A squirrel called "Erwin" in Isernhagen, near Hanover, got his head caught in a manhole last August. Police officers tried several ways to free the furry creature, only succeeding after one carefully held back his ears and the squirrel was able to slip his head out. Police confirmed that he later died, probably from stress.
A firefighter in the western town of Hünxe rescued a stag on the frozen ice of a local lake in January 2011. Five deer fell through the ice into the chilly waters.
A dachshund was rescued by firefighters in Hattingen, North Rhine-Westphalia in January after it was trapped inside a 50-meter-long drainpipe.
Police and firefighters in the town of Helmenzen, near Bonn, tried to rescue a cat caught in a truck's tow-bar in February 2012. They finally were able to free the animal after using a water sprayer, a wire loop, and pressurized air.
