"Yogi" the 2,000-pound steer rescued after NJ tree service lends crane to help farm animal stuck in mud pit
A South Jersey community came together this week to rescue a steer who was stuck in the mud and help him to safety.
Yogi the steer was in dire straits Wednesday night. As temperatures dropped into the 30s, the 2,000-pound resident of Funny Farm Rescue in Mays Landing, New Jersey was embedded in a pile of mud and couldn't get out. He began to shiver.
"When I tell you I almost gave up hope because he wasn't even trying after a while," said Laurie Zaleski, founder of Funny Farm Rescue. "You could see he had brush marks all over his legs from him trying to get up, and he dug almost a three-foot hole where he was digging."
Zaleski and a volunteer, Karen, couldn't pull him out themselves: Yogi weighs about as much as a Smart car or half a Ford Ranger pickup truck. So Karen packed down some wood shavings and straws and put blankets to keep Yogi warm through the night.
The next day, they tried straps and a tractor to get Yogi out, to no avail.
"I had a farmer friend come over and he said 'Laurie it's not looking good,' and you could see the panic. As soon as he left I started to cry," she said.
Then they appealed to their community.
"We need help! Anyone who is strong to help roll a cow. If you can come we will meet at 3:30 p.m. at the farm. Yogi can't get up. If anyone has any good ideas, please call Laurie," the farm posted on Facebook.
They saw a huge turnout.
"Farmers came, horse people came, government workers came, you name it," the farm said on Facebook.
Perhaps most importantly, Jarred Pagano with JPX Tree Service of Egg Harbor Township brought in his crane to help lift Yogi to safety.
"In my head, I wasn't leaving until he was up," Pagano said. "This time last year, I was diagnosed with cancer, and I was in a really bad spot. Being able to come back a year later and be a hero meant everything to me."
The farm went live on Facebook when the crane was lifting Yogi back onto his feet.
"When he said he was bringing a crane I was like, 'Oh my God, really?' But it saved his life, it saved his life, I have to give you another hug," Zaleski said.
A veterinarian was on the premises and checked out Yogi. He's OK! And on Friday the farm shared another video of Yogi just hanging out, feeling much better.
"The entire community came out to help. No one thought they might be filmed. They did it out of compassion and the goodness of their hearts," the farm wrote in a Facebook post thanking everyone for their help.
Funny Farm Rescue is on Railroad Boulevard, not far from Route 40.
