Firefighters rescue scaredy cat stuck on lamppost in St. George

ST. GEORGE — When not running to fires, firefighters will often respond to traffic accidents and medical incidents. That wasn’t the case for one call Thursday involving a young cat that got herself stuck at the top of a lamp pole.

The St. George Fire Department responded to an animal rescue call on 700 West where a cat named D-O-G got herself stuck on top of a lamppost, St. George, Utah, April 9, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Shortly before 6 p.m., a family living on 700 West was playing in their front yard and throwing a ball around when the cat became spooked by something and ran up the lamppost next to the house, the cat’s owner told St. George News.

The cat, a 5-mouth-old black and gray tabby named D-O-G – the kids named the cat, the cat’s owner said – was mewing every few minutes as she peered down at the small group of children and others looking up at her. The pole the feline was perched on looked to be 20-25 feet high.

The cat’s owner said he was laughing about the situation when he called dispatch asking for help.

The St. George Fire Department responded to the call and initially arrived with a standard firetruck and crew. However, it was decided to retrieve one of the Fire Department’s ladder trucks in order to reach the hapless feline.

Once the firefighters returned with the ladder truck, St. George Firefighter Dave Carlile got in the extension ladder’s bucket and maneuvered it next to cat named D-O-G. The cat offered no resistance as Carlile picked her up from the pole and brought the ladder back down.

D-O-G was handed off to her owner after being stuck on the top of the lamp post for nearly an hour.

The Fire Department doesn’t often respond to animal rescue situations, Carlile said, but it does happen on occasion. As for rescuing a cat – something firefighters have jokingly been depicted doing for decades – Carlile said, “This is my first.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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