Photos by Jeffrey Hage, Fergus Falls Daily Journal
Firefighters in the western Minnesota town of Underwood weren't quite sure what to expect when they got the call: A donkey had fallen down an abandoned well and was trapped.

An unusual rescue operation followed. Firefighters quickly realized that the donkey, which belonged to a farmer named Warren Gundberg, couldn't just be pulled from the well. So they started pulling away earth with a Bobcat tractor and dismantling the well block by block.

Once the west wall of the well was dismantled, firefighters put a harness around the donkey and guided it out with a rope.

Underwood Fire Chief Bruce Huseth says he's rescued cows who've fallen through the ice, but never a trapped donkey. He says it appeared the donkey wandered away from its farm and onto some boards covering the well, which broke.

The donkey had some bruises but is otherwise fine.