Rescuers reach cat stranded atop pole
Published: September 11, 2006
A cat named Charlie may be the fire department’s newest, furriest fan.
City firefighters rescued Charlie on Saturday afternoon from a precarious perch atop a 35-foot power pole on North Street.
Now authorities are trying to determine who attacked the cat with blow-darts while the animal was trapped on the pole.
Firefighters believe the house cat, which had been missing for almost a week, spent at least a day atop the pole.
Assistant Fire Chief Dave Fredrick said it was the first cat he has helped rescue in 12 years on the job.
“It was kind of a different kind of rescue,” he said.
Rescuing the cat took almost an hour and a half, Fredrick said, because Charlie had positioned himself against a live wire. Firefighter John Kolan was able to coax the cat away from the line and bring him to safety.
“(Charlie’s) back end was touching the power line, so we couldn’t touch the cat,” Frederick said.
Firefighters also had to be gentle, because someone shot Charlie with blow-darts.
The cat still had darts stuck in his body when rescued.
They also found rocks scattered at the bottom of the pole.
Though firefighters removed a few darts, Charlie’s owners, the John Scudder family of Yale, took the cat to a veterinary clinic to remove a dart from its abdomen.
“He seems like he’s been up there more than just a few hours, he was just totally wiped right out,” Scudder said. “We have no idea how long he’d been up there.”
Scudder said a veterinarian removed the dart, treated the cat with antibiotics and was keeping him for observation.
He said the family is glad to have Charlie back and hopes they can find who is responsible for causing him pain.
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