Group effort saves cat from freezing in tree top
Barbara McGrady, president of Society for the Protection of Animals, was contacted at 3:45 p.m. Monday by the Fremont Police. The dispatcher told McGrady that there was a cat stuck near the top of a tree located next to the police station, and several of the officers were concerned the cat might freeze to death.
The fire department was contacted for help, but they said they haven't helped remove cats from trees in more than 10 years.
McGrady then contacted the mayor's office and was told that no one there was able to help.
Knowing that the cat would freeze to death by nightfall, McGrady called the president of Mosser Construction, Jim Otermat, hoping he might have a bucket truck available to do the job. Otermat was very concerned but had no trucks available because they were all on job sites.
Otermat suggested that McGrady call Sabroske Electric because they were only a few blocks away and he thought they would probably be willing to help. Otermat said to hurry and make that call because it was close to the end of the workday.
By 4:20 p.m., Tom Decker and Eric Smart of Sabroske Electric were at the police station with their company truck. Decker and Terry McGrady, Barbara's husband, went up in the bucket to retrieve the cat.
A young woman named Burnadette Witt, who just happened to be going by the police station earlier, said that the cat belonged to her and that he had been missing for two days.
The cat was returned to Witt, who said he had escaped out of a door when a friend came over. The cat, who had been called Kitty, might now be given a new name of "Sabroske," Witt said.
Originally published Friday, December 24, 2004