DIGBY, N.S. — Megan Stark woke up in a panic on March 19.
Stark’s daughter was bringing their dog outside, when she heard a cat’s cry come from above.
Her daughter went inside and broke the news to the family, their cat was sitting on top of a telephone pole.
“I was in pure panic. I just remember thinking how do you get a cat off a telephone pole,” Stark said.
Ten-month-old Tinkerbell got out the night before, but they didn’t think anything of it because she often goes outside.
Stark tried putting food on the ground below and calling to her.
No luck.
Stark called the Digby fire department, but they were unavailable at the time.
Then, she called Nova Scotia Power. They also told her they were unable to help.
“I was getting a little frustrated, I didn’t know what to do. I felt so bad for that poor cat.”
That’s when Stark took to Facebook to try and find someone with a tall enough ladder.
Eight hours later, she got a call from Jason Levings with the Barton-Brighton fire department.
The fire department came to the scene, assessed the situation and decided they could get the cat down.
“I’m pretty confident that if they didn’t come, she would have died up there,” said Stark.
Within an hour, Tinkerbell was brought down safely and is recovering well.
She’s having trouble opening one of her eyes but seems happy to be home reconnecting with the family’s other pets, Stark said.
“We’re so grateful for everyone that helped us bring her down. The fire department really went above and beyond here.”
Levings has helped out with other animal related rescues before, he said.
“We try and do as much as we can to help out the community. We answer a variety of calls.”
Levings is the deputy chief of the Barton-Brighton fire department and has a close relationship with the Digby fire department.
Most volunteer fire fighters work other jobs and are not always available for a non-emergency situation.
“We’re all volunteers who try our best to help the community in any way we can, it was just luck that we were available at the time.”
The Barton-Brighton fire department looked at the situation as a training exercise, said Levings.
“We got to do a good deed for a family with a child, worried about their pet. So, it was a win-win for us.”
