Jefferson County woman rescues two bald eagles from drowning in the Black River

THERESA, N.Y. (WWTI) — Helping people is all a day’s work as a first responder.

On May 21, Shannon House from Theresa hiked with a friend on the Black River Trail in Great Bend.

Although House was on her day off from work at the Gouverneur Rescue Squad and Indian River Ambulance Service, the hike led her to a once-in-a-lifetime rescue.

“I saw a little trail that I had not gone on before, and I was like, it goes to a dam,” House explained. “So I went down and I got out a little bit onto the dam and I saw something moving over on the other side.”

What House saw were two adult bald eagles, who were drowning in the Black River.

“I was like, All right, I don’t think they’re getting out of there,” she recounted.

She contacted the Department of Environmental Conservation, however, an agent was unable to respond to the scene. House took matters into her own hands and took action immediately.

“I checked them out, grabbed and then brought them up onto the dam and pried their talons out of each other because they were sunken pretty deep with the way they curve,” she said. “I had to lay them on their back, otherwise I wasn’t going to be getting the talons out.”

Once the eagle pair were free, the two jumped into the water, where they washed off their wings. The birds eventually perched atop branches near the dam.

Bald eagles can oftentimes have aggressive tendencies. House explained that she has a friend who owns a Bird of Prey Sanctuary, where she had learned skills on how to approach these wild animals.

House said in this case, it was all worth the risk because she saw the two eagles fly away.

“I knew the dangers, but I checked them out first to see how aggressive they would be. When I figured out they’re not going to intentionally hurt me, I was like, all right,” House expressed. “I probably would have still done it even if I were too aggressive. All I saw was they’re in trouble, so I’ve got to help them.”

Strength, courage and freedom, just like what the bald eagles symbolize.

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