ForumGarden

Firefighters shot at for not helping cat Sat Aug 19, 5:11 PM ET





KINGMAN, Ariz. - A man angry at firefighters who refused to rescue a cat from a tree was arrested after he started shooting at the fire crew, officials said.



Jeffrey Cullen, 58, was charged with four felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Mohave County Sheriff's spokeswoman Trish Carter said.

A three-person fire crew went to Cullen's home Thursday when he reported a tree fire, but found no blaze, Hualapai Valley Fire Department spokeswoman Sandy Edwards said.

Instead, Cullen told firefighters he wanted a cat rescued from his tree and knew they would only respond to a fire call, Edwards said. A battalion chief told Cullen to call animal control or wait for the cat to get hungry and come down.

Cullen apparently didn't like the response, Edwards said.

"He went back into the house, got a small black revolver and came outside shooting," she said.

The firefighters and a 12-year-old boy who had come to see the fire truck ran for their lives, Edwards said. No one was injured.

Deputies arrested Cullen after a brief standoff and struggle.

This caught my eye as I live very close to Kingman. The guy shouldn't have lied, tying up the fire dept's force, but it's true they generally refuse to assist on animal calls. And knowing Kingman as I do I am not surprised. Animal control probably refused to help the guy in the first place as they do out here. Speaking for the a/c in my town, they really are good for nothing so this guy probably knew that. Or maybe not. Was the cat really afraid to come down or was he just not ready? I've never had a cat in a tree before so I don't know. Unless he was (cuss cuss) declawed, I would think he could get back down on his own.

Fire Depts generally will respond to calls to rescue animals that are truly in precarious positions. However, a cat in a tree does not fit that criteria. Ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree? The cat will come down when he is good and ready and not a minute sooner. Fire Dept can't tie up public emergency response equipment and the crews that operate them to risk injury in trying to "rescue" a cat who is very naturally sitting in a tree. Speaking of: My niece's cat wouldn't come out of their tree. Knowing the fire department wouldn't help and having tried putting food at the base of the tree, her husband resorted to desperate measures. If the cat won't come down and you can't carry him down the next best thing is to bring the tree down, right? So he chopped the tree down which then proceeded to fall on electric lines knocking out power to the entire small town. Moral of the story: Leave the cat alone, it'll come down.

Adam Zapple wrote: Ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?


:yh_rotfl :yh_rotfl :yh_rotfl

Of course they come down. All you need to do is ignore them :rolleyes:

Mr. Cullen, as Dr. Phil would say, has ISSUES! What an idiotic DINGBAT lousy father danger to public safety!

Love,

Nancy Nonjudgemental

Unless a cat is injured or physically caught on something in the tree, I don't think it is really stuck, the cat just thinks it's stuck. Climbing a tree is natural for a cat. They just aren't that great at coming down. The natural inclination is to come down headfirst but their front legs aren't always strong enough to support that gravity pulling downward momentum plus their claws are curved the wrong way for a headfirst exit. If they can figure out to come down booty first it will be a lot easier. It's kind of a trial and error learning experience and they can be frightened but eventually they will figure it out and come down.

Who is going to take care of his cat when he is sentenced to jail time? He's worried about it being in a tree, now its not got an owner to take care of it.

I somehow suspect it'll be in better hands, anyway!