What is Technical Large Animal Rescue (TLAR)?
TLAR is the blending of technical skills applied with an understanding of prey animal behavior and characteristics to resolve an incident involving a trapped or incapacitated animal. As a rescue it is dynamic and inherently dangerous. It should only be attempted by individuals and agencies who have sought professional training.
Mission Statement
It is the mission of the Large Animal Rescue Co. to provide professional training in Technical Large Animal Rescue (TLAR), to continually develop new rescue techniques and equipment applications, and to promote TLAR as a standardized response nationwide.
Who are we?
We are a group of concerned firefighters and horse owners who live in the Santa Cruz Mountains where the dramatic terrain offers up unique challenges to TLAR. John and Deb Fox, with the help of numerous others including Chief Ron Richabough, successfully started a Large Animal Rescue response program in Santa Cruz County. They developed a Large Animal Rescue (LAR) Unit within the Felton Fire Protection District that now responds to all LAR incidents within the county and to surrounding counties. The program has been in operation for over 12 years and responds to an average of 12 to 16 times a year. Since retirement from Felton Fire, John and Deb have joined the San Juan Bautista Fire Department in San Benito County, CA. They have started a LAR Unit within the department and are currently formalizing the unit’s equipment cache and response. The unit had its first official rescue in January 2010 rescuing a stallion that was trapped in the mud. Currently John is the Assistant Chief of the department and Deb is the departments Medical Director and is completing her driver operator.