Truck Driver Saves Moose Trapped in Four Feet of Water and Ice

In a daring rescue, a tow truck driver saved a moose stuck in ice!

Clint Gottinger, owner of Rebel Towing, was on his way to two out-of-town towing jobs when he spotted the unfortunate animal on April 26.

“He looked tired and defeated and I thought to myself, I cannot see the poor guy suffer and leave him there,” Clint, who lives in Kelvington in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, told People.

The little moose was trapped in four feet of water and ice.

“I was quite certain that with my truck and equipment I had the capability to get him out. So I backed up as far as I could to the water and slid my deck out right up to the moose,” Clint said.

Then he tossed a soft sling around the moose’s head and with the help of a neighbor maneuvered the moose onto the truck’s deck.

“He was so exhausted he let me work around him. He was cold, wet and tired just sitting on the tow truck deck,” said Clint, whose clients were “very understanding” that he’d be late getting to them.

“As I was backing up to the house, I phoned my wife and told her to bring out some blankets, ‘I have a moose on my deck!'”

The couple laid the moose on a blanket and covered him with another.

“We just let him rest while periodically checking on him,” Clint, who nicknamed the moose Rebel after his company, said.

“The next day he stayed around all day resting. He’d stand and move for a while and then he’d lay down.”

The moose trotted back into the trees on April 28 — and when Clint’s Facebook pictures of the rescue, which he captioned, “Well that’s a first,” went viral, animal lovers rejoiced.

“Smart and kind,” wrote one. “That’s more of what we need in the world.” Another wrote: “You are wonderful. Bless you for doing that!”

On May 8, Clint posted that he spotted the baby moose frolicking in the snow with his mother, adding: “Acted like he owed me money.”