A small coyote pup is lucky to be alive after running headfirst into a cholla cactus in Arizona Tuesday.
The pup, who was safely back with his family Wednesday, was rescued by two Sun City West golf course workers and a Good Samaritan who spotted the young coyote injured in her backyard.
Gwen Maxwell, 86, was leaving her home at around 6.30am Tuesday to go for a walk when she saw what she believed to be a small puppy running across the street.
Poor pup: This young coyote ran headfirst into a cholla cactus plant in Sun City West, Arizona, leaving him with seven large clumps clinging to his face
Painful ordeal: The injured pup made his way to the Pebblebrook Golf Course, where help soon arrived
Animal lover: Retired teacher Gwen Maxwell, 86, who is recovering from eye surgery, spotted the pup writhing in agony in her backyard and called for help
The retired teacher asked a neighbor to call for help and then went inside the house to keep watch over the injured pup.
‘He’d get up and tumble around with all those chollas on him, and it was just so heartbreaking,’ Maxwell said.
The young coyote writhing in agony on the ground was soon joined by his mother, who held vigil by her pup’s side but was unable to do anything to help.
The pup eventually struggled out of Maxwell’s backyard and headed to the nearby golf course, leaving the retired teacher concerned that someone might hit or run over the injured animal.
But luckily for the small coyote, he has attracted the attention Pebblebrook Golf Course maintenance worker Jose Soto and Assistant Superintendent Shawn Bordine, who jumped into action to save him.
Soto, wearing thick leather gloves, got hold of the pup and kept him still while Bordine wielding a pair of pliers proceeded to pull large cholla clumps out of his body, then used smaller pliers to remove 20-30 individual spikes.
All the while, the coyote’s agitated mom was staying nearby and keeping watch on the rescue operation. A sheriff’s deputy was also on hand to watch over the adult coyote.
Bordine later said that the pup was amazingly calm throughout the entire ordeal, which lasted about 10-15 minutes, AZCentral.com reported.
‘He didn’t bite or make a sound,’ he said.
Once all the spines have been removed, the two golf course employees brought the pup to a spot where it could see his mother and the rest of their clan, which reportedly numbered at least four other young coyotes.
Men at work: Pebblebrook Golf Course worker Jose Soto (left) and Assistant Superintendent Shawn Bordine (right) jumped into action, using pliers to remove the cactus clumps and spines from the pup’s body
All better: Jose Soto posing with the lucky pup after having all the spikes extracted
On the mend: The young coyote sustained a few cuts from the spikes, but was able to rejoin its parents and siblings roaming around the golf course
Later that day, Bordine saw the rescued pup with his dad, who licked him and appeared to play with him before the pair ran off.
‘I’m glad we were able to help, because I hate to see an animal down. It would have killed me if we didn’t do anything,’ Bordine said. ‘I have a dog, and I would want someone to help if my dog was hurt.’
This is not the first time that Bordine and Soto, now being called the Dynamic Duo by their co-workers, have helped save an animal in distress.
Last year, the two rescued a red-tailed hawk that had fallen out of the nest on Pebblebrook Golf Course 1th green.