Tree trimmer climbs 50 feet to rescue stranded cat
Published in Cats & Dogs News
(UPI) A professional tree trimmer was summoned to a Michigan park and climbed a nearly 50-foot tree to rescue a stranded cat.
Robin Walenga, an animal advocate and rescuer in Grand Rapids, said a member of the public reported a cat was stranded nearly 50 feet off the ground in the high branches of a tree in Richmond Park.
Walenga called Erick Baker of Tip Top Tree Care LLC, who has helped her with tree rescues in the past.
Baker used a rope mechanism to scale the tree and reach the stranded cat.
"We use mechanical extenders," Baker told WXMI-TV. "I use one that's attached to my right foot, then I use a knee extender that's spring-loaded, and those are friction devices, so they will move one direction on the rope.
"So as I step up and then put pressure down, it locks on the rope and allows me to walk up the rope like I would go up a ladder."
Baker said the rescue took about 30 minutes.
"I had a full conversation with the cat. We went back and forth a little while," he said.
Walenga posted photos and video from the rescue to Facebook.
"A huge thank-you to Erick Baker with Tip Top Tree Care LLC for his amazing climbing skills and for saving this cat," Walenga wrote.
Walenga said the cat has been placed in a foster home while rescuers try to determine whether it was a stray or an escaped pet.
Copyright 2021 by United Press International
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