A few Cranbrook folks are being praised as heroes after helping to save a kitten from certain death on Tuesday (July 12).

It all began when one little girl fell in love with a kitten and wanted to bring it home.

Tara Horvath is a roofer and has been working out on a rural property near Cranbrook.

On Monday, she brought her daughter, Hunter, along to work so she could play with the other kids on the farm for the day.

B次元官网网址淪he was playing with the other kids on the farm and the family recently had kittens. She fell in love with this one kitten, so all day Hunter was after me, mom can I have a kitten? Mom, can I have a kitten?B次元官网网址� said Horvath.

B次元官网网址淚 told her we would think about it. Later that evening she cleaned her room and we wrote up a written contract because, you know, cats are a big responsibility. She already had the kitten picked out; itB次元官网网址檚 so tiny only six weeks old or so, and the kids there had already named it Rocky.B次元官网网址�

Horvath says that when Tuesday morning came and they arrived on site, Rocky was nowhere to be found. That is, until, they heard a faint meow coming from underneath an old outbuilding B次元官网网址� where a small pipe leads to a decommissioned septic tank with only about one and a half or two feet of room between the ground and the building.

B次元官网网址淲e tried putting rope down there, we got a lasso, we tried a sewer snake, with no luck at all. We tried all day.B次元官网网址�

Exasperated, Horvath knew she needed help. So she called Roto-Rooter.

Dan Meldrum and his wife Ashlie, who own the Roto-Rooter franchise in Cranbrook, had never gotten such a call before.

B次元官网网址淲e were doing a job on Tuesday when we got a phone call from our receptionist with an odd question,B次元官网网址� Meldrum explained. B次元官网网址淪he said a kitten had fallen down a sewer line, and the lady who called saw that there were pet rescues advertised on the Roto-Rooter website. We personally donB次元官网网址檛 really advertise pet rescues per say, but I know that Roto-Rooter does perform them, mainly in the U.S.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 said, well, we can certainly try.B次元官网网址�

And try they did.

Meldrum deployed specialized camera equipment to search for the kitten.

B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 see if sheB次元官网网址檚 really in this pipe,B次元官网网址� Meldrum said. B次元官网网址淵ou could hear her, but with the camera all I could see was cobwebs in the pipe. If an animal was in there - surely they would have knocked some of the cobwebs out.B次元官网网址�

ThatB次元官网网址檚 when they decided to take a look around underneath the outbuilding with the camera.

B次元官网网址淲e could all hear her meowing away, so Dan shoved the camera around and ended up finding an old well, about four or five feet deep and eight inches across,B次元官网网址� Horvath said.

Lo and behold, at the bottom of the well, they could see RockyB次元官网网址檚 glowing eyes with the camera.

B次元官网网址淲ithout their camera, we would have never found her,B次元官网网址� said Horvath. B次元官网网址淲e literally tried all day with this other pipe, from nine in the morning to six at night, and we werenB次元官网网址檛 even in the right place.B次元官网网址�

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After they had the kitten located, the team used a makeshift rope to try and catch her.

B次元官网网址淪he kept climbing up the rope but she would get one or two feet from the top and fall back down. She was so tired,B次元官网网址� Horvath said.

The team ended up temporarily pulling up some floorboards to better access the opening of the old well.

B次元官网网址淗unter was the only one that could fit down there, so she got down there with the rope but again had no luck,B次元官网网址� said Horvath. B次元官网网址淪o, we ended up using the Shop-Vac.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e used it on the lowest setting, and we didnB次元官网网址檛 want to hurt her so we were really trying to get her back end and not her face. Hunter got the kittenB次元官网网址檚 leg and her back end with the vacuum, so it didnB次元官网网址檛 hurt her, and she came right up,B次元官网网址� said Meldrum.

He says it was a really great team effort, and Horvath agrees.

B次元官网网址淚t was just really cool to be part of it, so many people were involved and we all came together for this common goal,B次元官网网址� said Meldrum. B次元官网网址淲e love this community and always want to help in any way possible, whether helping people, or furry people.B次元官网网址�

Horvath says Rocky is home and happy, being cared for by Hunter. TheyB次元官网网址檝e even dubbed her Rocky Rooter.

B次元官网网址淭he kids on the farm said that we could change her name, but we thought itB次元官网网址檚 perfectly fitting. She had a rocky start but now sheB次元官网网址檚 got a great life,B次元官网网址� said Horvath. B次元官网网址淚t was such an amazing show of teamwork and perseverance. We were all a little emotional when we finally got her, everyone clapping and cheering. It was so rewarding.B次元官网网址�

corey.bullock@cranbrooktownsman.com
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