A dog up a tree? Check. A cat in a drain? Check. A goat in a boat? Almost.
The Dargaville Fire Brigade has a proud record of unusual animal rescues but a feral goat perched on a log stuck in willow trees 10 metres out in a flooded river proved too much even for them.
Emergency services were alerted yesterday to a goat which appeared to be stuck up a tree surrounded by floodwaters spilling from the Wairoa River, near the Tangiteroria Bridge on State Highway 14.
The goat was clearly visible to passing motorists, hence the calls for a rescue.
Senior station officer Brian Clune, of the Dargaville Fire Brigade, said the volunteers were unable to reach the goat on foot because the floodwaters were too deep.