PETA pins award on donkey's rescuers

Updated: September 18, 2007 - 7:35 PM

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It turns out all's well that ends well, not just for Amos the wayward donkey, but for his rescuers, too.

On Tuesday, five days after members of the Underwood, Minn., volunteer fire department rescued Amos from an abandoned well, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals awarded the crew the organization's Compassionate Firefighter Award.

According to the award, "your team's courageous actions have set the gold standard for other firefighters and will inspire others to intervene when they witness animal abuse or see animals in distress."

Amos had wandered about a mile away from his fenced-in enclosure when he plunged into an empty well that had been covered with particleboard.

When firefighters arrived, alerted by the donkey's owner, they discovered they couldn't winch him out of the well without injuring him. So, improvising, one used a skid loader to dig a trench to the edge of the well, which crew members dismantled.

Little the worse for wear, Amos walked out of the well. "The only thing he hurt was his pride -- and his backside," in the words of his owner.

BOB VON STERNBERG