Deputy Christina Ammons held the bull’s head above water for 45 minutes.
By KEVIN BRADY
Have you heard the one about the cop and the bull? Only in this case, it’s true.
File it under “Only in Florida,” but a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy waded into a chest-deep retention pond in Riverview last week and helped rescue a 1,000-pound bull from drowning, guarded all the while by a colleague armed with a rifle to protect her from alligators.
The incident started March 28, when a man mowing grass at 6031 Madison Avenue in Riverview noticed what he thought was a cow struggling in a small retention pond.
Responding to a call, Deputy Christina Ammons, a 19-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, found a 1,000-pound bull in the water about six feet from land. Ammons, who could see the animal was struggling to avoid drowning, immediately stripped off her gunbelt and uniform shirt and lifted the bull’s head above water.
Another deputy stood by at the edge of the pond with a rifle to safeguard Ammons from any potential alligators that may have been in the water.
Ammons remained in the water, supporting the bull’s head, for 45 minutes while Hillsborough County Fire Rescue sent a crew with equipment to pull the bull out.
With the combined efforts of everyone involved, the bull was successfully removed from the pond and, after approximately 30 minutes, the bull was up and walking and apparently determined he was not injured.
Watch the video of the rescue on YouTube by searching for “Bovine Rescue” or following this link http://tinyurl.com/observer-bull.
