What have a snake trapped in a coconut shell and a puppy lost in a recliner got in common?
They were among hundreds of bizarre calls to firefighters in Courier Country including a cat that got its head stuck in a TV.
A freedom of information request has revealed a series of strange animal emergencies such as a Perth iguana that got stranded on a roof and a dog that trapped its head between railings in Dundee’s Whitfield area.
Some of the more distressing calls included a dog impaled on a fence in Aberargie, a dolphin that got into difficulty at Moncrieffe Island and a horse that had to be put down after falling into a well in Auchterarder.
Data was requested from all eight of Scotland’s former fire services to cover the last five years, however only three responded with results.
Since 2008 there have been almost 139 calls to animal-related incidents in Tayside compared with around 670 in Strathclyde since recording mechanisms changed there in 2009.
Dumfries and Galloway recorded just nine instances, all of which involved either a dog or a cat.
Assistant Chief Officer David Goodhew of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “As a fire and rescue service we are regularly called to assist in animal rescue situations.
“This may range from a domestic pet trapped to a major road traffic collision involving a transporter carrying cattle.
“Our Fire Control staff are trained to assess each of these incidents appropriately before mobilising resources.”
Dundee and surrounding areas have proved a mecca for animal mishaps with firefighters called to the Landmark Hotel to deal with a fox in a pit and also to Scott Street where a moggy became trapped in a car engine.
In the Hilltown, a cat had to be released from the top of a roller blind and one bird lover called the service to report a pigeon caught on a spike in Union Street.
The snake in the coconut shell was dealt with at Macalpine Road Fire Station and firefighters were called to Camperdown Zoo in 2010 when an owl went missing from its enclosure. Rural parts also posed problems.
In Blairgowrie a cat managed to scale a 100ft tree before refusing to come down and there was a serious incident on the M90 near Kinross when horses travelling in a horsebox were involved in an accident.
Just last month a distraught pet owner in Arbroath’s Sidney Street received help when their dog became locked in the bathroom.
And in November a “fine spray of water” was used to “coax” a cat out of a tree at Benholm Gardens in Forfar.