Animals Rescued From Flood Waters
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Rescuers worked for hours to get the horses to dry land.
It was a heroic effort to save animals trapped by flood waters in Northwest Indiana.
CBS 2's Jeremy Ross reports from Lake Station.
You see the horse going deeper into water.
Rescuers offer a lifeline to a one-year-old quarter horse.
But the animal wades deeper into Lake Station flood waters.
He's eventually collared, but far from calm kicking in fright, shortly after shivering as the cold sets in from spending hours in the water.
Rescue crews manage to pull him towards shore, but not out of danger as for a moment his head dips below water.
And hearts race well above baseline.
Daniel Chavez along with first responders helped rescue the animals among at least five flooded farms.
"That's your babies that you got to get out," says Chavez, adding that he was worried that the animals might not make it out.
Firefighters estimate about 50 animals were saved from the advancing waters.
Including dogs, cats and more than two dozen horses.
Jeffery Robertson isn't sure his brother's nearby home can be saved.
"The basement's totally flooded," says Robertson. "(Water is) chest high."
He says more than a dozen homes on this block show some kind of property loss.
But it's the first responders limiting that loss to things that can be replaced.
Firefighters tell CBS 2 that all of the animals survived. All of the horses are expected to be OK.