Letter: The Real Deal!

Dear Editor,

I want to send a shout-out to the Owego Firemen and Women who answered the call to help a hapless orange kitty named Orange who climbed up into a very large tree and then realized he had no reverse in his engine. To his dismay, he could only go up; he couldn’t go down, as he was too afraid. He was hollering for help for two days, but no one came. We tried to put a ladder up there, but since his brain must be no bigger than a walnut, he kept going higher to avoid those who were trying to rescue him.

We finally asked the Owego Fire Department to help us. They are not afraid of such extreme heights as us mere mortals, and they have really cool equipment to help them. When they showed up with a ladder truck that has a bucket that holds three firemen, we thought this was a done deal. The kitty, however, said no thank you when the bucket was extended up into the tree to fetch him. It might as well have been a fire-breathing dragon, and he wanted no part of that!

Up, up, up he went! I might be wrong, but I think he might have gone as high as 100 feet into the thick foliage of this Very, Very Large tree. The people on the ground could no longer see him.

The spotters on the ground searched for him in vain until they finally spotted a little orange speck at the top of the tree. The firemen relocated their monstrous truck to come at the little guy from a different angle, and with a high level of expertise and laser focus, they approached Orange, who was approximately 100 feet (my estimate) off the ground with the bucket. Meanwhile, they set up a very tall ladder against the other side of the tree. Then the bucket, gently but ever so firmly guided by operators over in the parking lot and in the bucket, moved towards Orange, trying to get him to back up towards the fireman high up on the ladder behind him.

We were all holding our breath as the kitty slowly backed away from the bucket towards the very brave fireman on the top of his ladder. This fireman was the newest recruit in the Owego Fire Department, by the way. With cats, you never know if they are going to bite or scratch, but apparently this brave young fireman grabbed him by the nape of his neck as he was backing away from the bucket, and he carefully climbed down the ladder while holding the complaining Orange at arm’s length. Orange was rescued!

My heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the stellar effort of the Owego Fire Department personnel who saved the life of the reluctant and maybe not too bright Orange. You are the real deal!

Sincerely,

Nancy Brown

Former owner, operator of Maddie’s Meadows