You become a firefighter and you think your job will be knocking down fires and maybe some cardiac arrests to tend to. You probably don’t sign up for this job thinking you’ll need to rescue horses stuck in mud.

That’s exactly what the job turned into in Central Jersey over the weekend.

On Friday a horse went missing from a barn in Millstone in Monmouth County. On Sunday morning it was found stuck deep in mud in a wooded area of Jackson in Ocean Township.

Unable to work itself free and no doubt exhausted by its struggle, Millstone firefighters along with the Cassville Fire Department and the horse’s owners, good Samaritans, horse trainers and a veterinarian came to its rescue.

They all worked together using axes, shovels, straps and a grip hoist to first free the animal then had to strategically lay heavy rubber mats to form a path for it to walk on so it didn’t sink again.

You can tell by the last picture in the Millstone Township Uniformed Firefighters’ Facebook post the horse had been through quite an ordeal.

It’s beautiful when humans care enough to work so hard to help an animal. We see things like this with police going into storm drains to save baby ducks or rescue squads using jaws of life to help free deer caught in fences.

Gandhi is often quoted as saying, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Though in reality experts who followed his work and his speeches say he never actually said it, the sentiment nonetheless has merit.

Horses don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but this lucky one might want to pick up on the tradition.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.