This helper needs help! A youngster’s good intentions got him into a pricky situation.
The teenager climbed a tree in an Indianapolis park to save a cat he saw high up in the branches. Once at the top, he couldn’t get down, eventually requiring assistance.
Owen, a seventeen-year-old boy from Indianapolis, has a heart of gold and a deep love for animals. He was taking a stroll at Holliday Park on the north side of Indianapolis on a Saturday afternoon when an incident took place.
The boy heard a noise coming from overhead, so he looked up to see where the sounds originated. There, Owen spotted a poor cat on the highest branches of a tree. Judging by the animal’s frantic meowing, it looked like the cat was stranded high up.
According to a press release issued by the Indianapolis Fire Department, the young man wanted to help the cat reach the ground. Thus, Owen decided to rescue it by climbing thirty-five feet up into the tree.
Rita Reith, who is the battalion chief and the spokesman for the department, reported the teenager’s statements to firefighters, writing:
” He was trying to do a good deed and bring the cat to safety,”
Unfortunately, the boy’s heroic strategy didn’t go as smoothly as he had envisioned. Owen managed to climb up the tree but coming down was another story.
“While Owen had no trouble climbing up the tree –- his positioning did not allow the same ease for getting down,” the firefighter spokesperson said.
The teenager found himself in the same situation as the cat he was trying to assist: trapped on a tree’s branch over 30 feet from the ground!
Owen and the trapped kitten are rescued
Luckily, just like Owen did for the cat, it was his turn to be found by onlookers who then opted for a safer alternative, calling the fire department to the rescue.
About two hours later, firefighting services were sent to the park. Using a rope system, they successfully brought the youngster down to the ground in a safe manner.
Moreover, the adolescent was examined by medical personnel; they found that he had only received a few scrapes.
Feeling well, Owen was then returned to his parents. As for the feline at the origin of this commotion, he remained on the tree.
Firefighters remarked,
” The cat seemed to enjoy the commotion but made no effort to climb down the tree,”
The following Monday, a young woman said to be the cat owner ultimately contracted the services of a third party to collect the pet.