City of Peoria Press Release
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Creative Thinking Saves Cat
Peoria Public Works Department helps rescue cat from well
6/16/2011
PEORIA, Ariz. (June 16, 2011) – When you hear
about a cat being stuck in a tree, it’s usually the Fire Department who comes to
the rescue. Who do you call when a cat is stuck in a storm drain? Call the
Public Works-Utilities team, that’s who.
On Tuesday, June 7 Janet Ramsay, street and storm drain manager, received an
unusual call from the Police Department about a cat being stuck in a storm drain
near 83rd avenue and Thunderbird Road. The cat was trapped about 25 feet below grade
in a drywell after entering the drain.
Thanks to an ingenious rescue idea by Bill Mattingly, public works utilities
director with assistance from Gilbert Reyes, water distribution supervisor and
Frank Mendez, transportation technician II, the cat was coaxed into a cat
carrier baited with cat food. The carrier was lowered with a rope to the bottom
of the drywell. The cat was hungry enough that it entered the carrier
immediately. Mendez tipped the carrier up with the rope and pulled the cat out.
It appeared the cat had been in the drywell for sometime, surviving on flood
water. Fortunately, there is a happy ending for the cat. He was adopted by Lee
Woods in the Utilities Department.
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