Gracie the giraffe: Experienced veterinarian leads animal rescue

TEXAS - After weeks on the run, Gracie the giraffe is back home thanks to a carefully planned rescue.

What they're saying:

Dr. Pat O'Neil has been a veterinarian for 43 years. He’s treated everything from household pets to exotic animals like rhinos, antelope, and giraffes, but says he’s never experienced a rescue like this.

"You would think, yeah, how can a 16-foot giraffe disappear amongst the brush, but the trees are that tall," said Dr. O'Neil. 

Gracie, a 16-foot-tall, 1,600-pound giraffe escaped from Cedar Hollow Ranch in Leaky on June 12.

"They alerted me that they had lost her, and they'd been looking for two or three days with helicopters and not able to spot her," said Dr. O'Neil. 

Her disappearance quickly made national headlines.

"I just thought whatever some of the locals out on the ranches, people that work on some of these ranches might would see it or hear about it and give me an idea, you know, which way she might have gone. You know, 24 hours later, it's all over the world," said Vick Jones, manager of Cedar Hollow Ranch. 

The search was made even more difficult by the rugged Hill Country terrain and thick brush until a breakthrough happened.

"He was spotted on a remote game camera by one of the owners, and you can imagine that the ranch is surprised to see a draft at their deer feeder that they monitor from time to time," said Dr. O'Neil. 

Once they knew where she was, the challenge shifted to getting her home.

Dr. O'Neil says it involved helicopter crews, hailing crews, draft transport and finding a way to access to her location.

"It was a team effort from lots of different angles, from the haulers, the manufacturers to the trailer, our helpers, the helicopter pilot," said Dr. O'Neil. 

Early Monday morning, the crew tranquilized Gracie from a helicopter in an open area. The crew then brought in a custom-built trailer designed to safely haul Gracie.

"The helicopter crew landed, got her halter and blindfold on, and some lead lines, and we walked her onto that trailer. From there, it took about seven or eight miles to get her back along the ranch, back to the county road," said Dr. O'Neil. 

The Real County sheriff says her rescue was flawless and Gracie was not hurt during her recovery or her three-week getaway.

Although it took a while to get a plan together, she is now safely back with her owners.

Dr O'Neil says Gracie is doing better and is planning to check in on her in the coming days.