- December 6, 2025
Flagler County firefighter Brady Barry, kneeling near Mercy's face, listens as rescuers talk strategy during the rescue. (Photo courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
Flagler County Fire Chief Don Petito, left foreground, waits during the rescue operation. (Photo courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
Rescuers used a sked for leverage. (Photo courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
Mercy's owner, Barbara Jones, strokes Mercy's head after rescuers pulled the horse out of the septic tank. Firefighter Brady Barry assists. (Photo courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
Flagler County Sheriff's Office Agricultural Deputy Steve Williams, left, and Flagler County firefighter Brady Barry help Mercy to her feet after she was pulled out of the tank. (Photo courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
Easy does it as Mercy stands up after nearly four hours of being stuck in the septic tank Sept. 20. (Photo courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
Workers spray Mercy down with antiseptic chemicals after rescuers pulled the horse from the septic tank. (Photo courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
Flagler County Sheriff's Office Agricultural Deputy Steve Williams with Mercy's owner, Barbara Jones (Photo courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
For nearly four tense hours Sept. 20, a 24-year-old horse named Mercy was stuck in a septic tank at her owners' home on Clove Avenue in Bunnell.
She had wandered into the yard and somehow fell into the tank that was filled with sludge, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Rescuers from the Flagler County fire department, as well as a large-animal rescue team from St. Johns County Fire Rescue, an animal rescue team from the University of Florida, a group of area veterinarians from Shelton Animal Clinic, as well as agricultural Deputy Steve Williams of the FCSO all gathered to help the horse.
In addition, workers from the Flagler County Road and Bridge, health and code enforcement departments were on scene.
Mercy's owners, Barbara and Harry Jones, watched tearfully as the delicate operation unfolded: An A-frame maneuver was erected using a strap and a large, flat surface called a sked for leverage.
Mercifully, Mercy had been given a tranquilizer and a mask was placed over her eyes as she lay in the tank waiting to be rescued.
The saga, which began around 11 or 11:30 a.m., finally ended about 3:15 p.m. when Mercy was freed and carefully pulled out of the septic mess. Her grateful owner hugged Flagler County Sheriff's Deputy Williams, who knows Barbara Jones well and pointed out that the horse is well-nourished.
Throughout the ordeal, Flagler County firefighter Brady Barry, himself a horse owner and someone who knows horses, stayed with Mercy, stroking her and protecting her sensitive ears as the workers tried to free her.
After the men pulled Mercy out of the cesspool, workers wearing hazardous material coverings scrubbed her with brushes and hosed her off with antiseptic chemicals. She will be monitored and given antibiotics, the veterinarians said.
Upon being rescued and scrubbed, Deputy Williams and firefighter Barry carefully helped her stand up and she quietly munched grass as her owners expressed gratitude to the rescuers.
