Firefighters Rescue Woman Rescuing Cat Stuck Up Tree

Go Erie (The Erie Times-News) reports that Erie, Pennsylvania firefighters responded to a call for a woman stuck up a tree on Sunday, after 21 year old Tara Dennis climbed 40 feet up into the tree in an effort to save an orange tabby cat she and neighbors say was crying for help for a couple of days.

Erie firefighters used a 28 foot ladder leaned against the tree to help Tara and the cat get safely back down on the ground. Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Carroll said the rescuers brought the cat down first, then helped Tara to descend.

“I love animals,” Tara said, explaining why she  took it upon herself to try to save the cat. “I couldn’t let the cat stay up there.”

Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Carroll says the department normally advise residents to wait for cats to come down on their own.

Tara climbed a fence to get onto a garage roof and then “hopped onto the first branch” of the tree.

“I got the cat,” she said. “I put it in my shirt.”

Tara began to climb back down the tree with the cat but realized part way down that she was stuck, and a neighbor called 911

Tara and other neighbors at the scene were not sure of the cat’s name or who it belonged to.

As seen in the photo below, the cat accompanied Erie firefighter Jake Stuckey as he carried the ladder used in the rescue back to the truck.

Karen Harrison Binette

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