There's a cat up a tree in Iowa City.
Normally, that might lead to curious chatter with one's neighbors.
But this made the local news. The evening news. The lead story on the evening news.
The news hook to this story? The fire department refused to come rescue the feline from its 30-foot perch on the grounds that the cat had already bitten two people who had tried to rescue it and daring a rescue would only put the firefighters at undue risk.
Undue risk? These men and women rush into burning buildings all the time. They're afraid a 10-pound tabby will nip at them? Ooh. I'm shaking in my boots.
The cat was up there for five days, mewling and screeching pathetically. It was keeping the neighbors up, both with the noise and the concerns that the poor thing would waste away from lack of nourishment and exposure to the elements.
Finally, yesterday morning, a local plumber rented a cherry-picker and swooped in to save the day. Kitty is resting at the animal shelter, being treated for an upper respiratory ailment.
A friend joked that we have slow news days now that the caucuses are over.
I joked that if they really wanted a story, they could come over to my house. My DOG climbs the tree out back. It wouldn't be much of a tale though. Maggie knows how to get back down.
Normally, that might lead to curious chatter with one's neighbors.
But this made the local news. The evening news. The lead story on the evening news.
The news hook to this story? The fire department refused to come rescue the feline from its 30-foot perch on the grounds that the cat had already bitten two people who had tried to rescue it and daring a rescue would only put the firefighters at undue risk.
Undue risk? These men and women rush into burning buildings all the time. They're afraid a 10-pound tabby will nip at them? Ooh. I'm shaking in my boots.
The cat was up there for five days, mewling and screeching pathetically. It was keeping the neighbors up, both with the noise and the concerns that the poor thing would waste away from lack of nourishment and exposure to the elements.
Finally, yesterday morning, a local plumber rented a cherry-picker and swooped in to save the day. Kitty is resting at the animal shelter, being treated for an upper respiratory ailment.
A friend joked that we have slow news days now that the caucuses are over.
I joked that if they really wanted a story, they could come over to my house. My DOG climbs the tree out back. It wouldn't be much of a tale though. Maggie knows how to get back down.
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