A Wisconsin farmer says he planned to fill in an old well this summer, but didn't get to it in time to prevent Scooby the donkey from a major pratfall.

ADVERTISEMENT

It took two fire departments and a tow truck to haul the hapless donkey out of the well after he fell in Friday.

"I had covered up (the well) with big boards," farmer Francis Abbott told The Sheboygan Press. "I thought ... 'I'll get it this summer.' But the donkey fell in so it's going to get done faster."

Scooby found itself 14 feet down in the well and needed a horse tranquilizer before veterinarian Erica Sheets was lowered down to attach a harness that allowed a wrecker from a Plymouth body shop to do the heavy lifting.

Abbott said he knew the well was a hazard since his tractor nearly fell through last year. He had been trying to find some place that could supply the right kind of dirt to fill it in.