SAN JOSE — As video of 28 stranded horses standing in flood waters at Cooksy Family Stables near Kelley Park was repeatedly aired on TV and shared on social media, concerned animal lovers inundated the city’s animal care department with phone calls.

People wanted to know why the horses were being left to stand in the same contaminated water that caused the mandatory evacuation of 14,000 San Jose residents who live along Coyote Creek.

“We were absolutely flooded with calls,” said Julie St. Gregory, spokeswoman for San Jose Animal Care & Services. “It is heartwarming that people were upset by seeing the video footage.”

Although no evacuation took place, the horses were back on dry land Thursday morning, St. Gregory said.

Cooksy Family Stables, a horse boarding facility, is located near the Rock Springs neighborhood that endured the worst of the flooding, on the other side of Coyote Creek. Tuesday, videos showing horses standing in rising floodwaters began running on TV newscasts and social media.

By Wednesday night, the shelter had been so bombarded with calls that it released an update on social media, including Facebook and Nextdoor. But officials with the animal care department were advised by veterinarians and animal rescue agencies who deal with large animals not to move the horses, St. Gregory said, amid concerns the horses could get injured by barbed wire, fences and ditches.

St. Gregory said the decision to attempt a rescue of the horses would have been made by the San Jose Fire Department, which was also dealing with a large-scale rescue effort or more than 100 people.

“Moving them, they could get tangled up and create an even more catastrophic situation for them,” St. Gregory said. “We took their advice.”

In the social media update, the city’s animal care department asked people stop phoning the shelter so lines could be open for emergencies.

“We still have animals being hit by cars and people could not get through,” St. Gregory said.

The horses were cared for during the flooding, as owners were escorted by boat and canoes to give the animals food and clean water, St. Gregory said.

The Cooksy Family Stables could not be reached for comment.

The flood also resulted in 13 animals being dropped of at the shelter by displaced residents, St. Gregory said. And animal control officers also picked up two cats near the evacuation area in the Rock Springs neighborhood.