Drowning coyote saved by firefighters off San Francisco pier, photos show

Firefighters came to the rescue of a wild coyote struggling in the water after falling off a San Francisco pier, photos show.

One firefighter helped keep the coyote from going under with a lasso, while another approached on a personal watercraft with a floating litter in the Friday, Nov. 26, rescue, the San Francisco Fire Department reported on Twitter.

The coyote, suffering from severe hypothermia, was taken to a veterinary care center, the Twitter posts said.

“It is our understanding that the coyote, named by crews as ‘phoenix,’ will be okay,” firefighters wrote.

The city’s fireboat, which began operation in 1955, is named Phoenix, according to GuardiansOfTheCity.org.

San Francisco Animal Care and Control officers later released the coyote, KGO reported.

“I needed some good news today,” read one response to the Twitter posts.

“St Francis is smiling,” read another, invoking the city’s namesake.

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