Watch Texas Teen Brave Harvey Flood To Save Trapped Horse

Amid the many stories of profound devastation and tragedy coming out of storm-ravaged Texas this week have been amazing examples of heroism and humanity. People who have risked their lives to help neighbors and  strangers ; generous folk who have opened their homes to save the stranded; rescue workers and others who have worked tirelessly to ensure no one is left behind.

But the heroes in Texas haven’t just been saving humans. Dogs , kittens , birds and bats have all been given a helping hand since Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Friday. And even farm animals aren’t being forgotten.

Videos shared on Facebook show a man and his family wading through deep floodwaters to rescue stranded horses and cattle in Cleveland, Texas. One clip shows Chance Ward’s 17-year-old son, Rowdy, saving a trapped horse that had been locked inside a pen. The video has been viewed almost 10 million times since Monday.

In a moving Facebook post shared on Tuesday, Ward said he has experience rescuing animals from floods.

“We make livestock our first priority, as I know many are helping people,” he wrote.

Ward added that he and Rowdy had rescued several horses that day after seeing a plea on Facebook saying the animals were trapped in high water.

In an earlier post, Ward shared a video showing cattle being rescued by “several local cowboys.” 

“There is a lot of sad out of this storm, but I look at the positive,” Ward wrote on Tuesday. “There are a lot of great cowboys, plenty that are willing to do the same as us.”