A 27-year-old horse named Jeremy that was trapped in a muddy pond was saved by firefighters in Greater Manchester, England, after hours of pulling on Monday, the Daily Mail reported.

In the 1984 flick "The NeverEnding Story," Atreyu attempts to save his sinking horse Artax from the so-called Swamp of Sadness, but the desolate Artax lets the sadness get to him and he is swallowed by the swamp. Luckily, Jeremy's story has a happier ending.

He apparently likes to go for swims, and this isn't the first time that he's been trapped in a pond, the Mail said.

The horse's owner, Jayen Renshaw, said the horse was in the muddy pond for a few hours by the time he was found.

Jeremy was trapped up to his neck in muddy water.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service's specialist Water Incident Unit used its training to help rescue the animal from certain death.

Watching the rescue were Renshaw and her sister Jenny along with a special friend of Jeremy's -- Misty the donkey.

All intently watched as rescuers pulled and tugged in the attempt to get Jeremy out of the muddy pool.

Renshaw said: "I stood back. I can't handle seeing him being moved around. It was a close call; the vet gave him a lot of antibiotics and stuff to calm him down. He's an old guy -- he's 27 years old."

The owner added: "Misty was standing over there with him. I think she had to turn away at times, too! They're like little and large -- they're best buddies."

According to fire and rescue service station manager Kevin O'Connor: "It was up to its neck in water and suffering from hypothermia. It kept trying to spin in the water every time we got ready to pull it up it would turn round. It was very close to dying, but the donkey never left its side."

O'Connor added, "We also had to protect the owners of the horse from danger, it was lucky no one broke their leg."

United kingdom