Rescuing animals can be both difficult and extremely stressful.

Sometimes the animal in question can be stuck in an awkward place. Often it can be a tree, sometimes it’s a thorny bush – in the very worst cases, baby animals have somehow gotten away from their mothers and ended up in extremely tight spaces.

In these awkward situations, persistent, precise and careful people are needed.

Perhaps that’s often why firefighters do so well when it comes to helping trapped animals …

Last week, fire captain Brian Vaughan received an alarm call and immediately understood the need for urgency.

Eight tiny, black-coloured dog pups had been found stuck in a drain well. Those who made the call believed that a litter of black Labrador pups had been abandoned in the pipe by their owners.

20 minutes after the fire brigade arrived, all of the animals had been successfully pulled from the drain. They appeared unharmed and were subsequently taken to the Humane Rescue Organisation in the Pikes Peak Region.

It was only then that people realised they hadn’t saved any dog puppies at all. In actual fact, the black pups had become a bundle of red.

“One of the vets at the place said: ‘No, these are not labradors, they’re foxes,’” Vaughan explained to CBS in Denver.

Foxes are extremely common in the areas surrounding the Rocky Mountains, which is exactly where this litter was found.

Travis Sauder, Colorado Parks and Wildlife District Manager, told CBS4 that he’s not surprised that the call was placed to the firemen. Nor that the foxes were found in the first place.

“This time of year there are a lot of animals that are starting to have their young, and they have them in small dens that are places that we can encounter when we’re recreating in the outdoors like we like to do,” Sauder said.

These firefighters in rescued what they thought were puppies from a storm drain… but it turns out they’re red foxes!
What to do now?
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— CBSColorado (@CBSNewsColorado) March 16, 2018

According to Sauder, the foxes will be taken back to the pipe, in the hope that their mother will return to take care of them.

“These animals are going to be put back where we found them hoping that the mother is still in the area and can pick up the normal duties like she would. If the mom’s not around anymore we can take them to a licensed re-hab,” Sauder said.