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State Police, Turnpike Workers Rescue Goats In A Very Baaaa-d Situation

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NEW CASTLE (KDKA) -- Pennsylvania Turnpike workers and state police came to the rescue when two little goats found themselves in a very precarious situation.

According to Pa. Turnpike officials, the goats wandered away from their home on a local farm and somehow found their way onto an eight-inch beam on the Mahoning River Bridge, near New Castle. The bridge is 109-feet high and it's 1,700-feet in length. The goats were stranded for 18 hours.

Photos of the harrowing rescue were posted to the Pa. Turnpike's Facebook page:

Workers used a crane, provided by PennDOT, and managed get the goats safely down from the narrow ledge.

"Went underneath and we grabbed the white goat first, 'cause she was the one facing the other direction. We thought if we could get her up that there was a chance that we could get the brown one to be able to walk back on the beam on its own," said Todd Tilson, a long-time Turnpike worker who helped out with the rescue.

On Facebook, officials thanked the workers who helped the animals out.

"Thank you to all of the PennDOT and PA Turnpike employees who jumped into action to save the day!"

mahoning-river-bridge-goat-rescue
(Source: Pennsylvania Turnpike/Facebook)

But Tilson says it's what any animal lover would have done.

"It was very lucky how everything came out because we didn't have the slightest idea how they were gonna react once we got close to them," said Tilson.

The goats are now safely back home, on the farm.

"It's unbelievable, but with this day in society, I think everyone wants a feel good story," said Tilson, "and it was a feel good story with a happy ending that we did not know how it was gonna turn out."

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