A trick of the trade — when deciding who should climb down a ladder to rescue a shivering kitten from a storm drain, pick the skinniest guy.
Those were the words of wisdom shared by three Ansonia firefighters who — along with police, a Department of Public Works employee and the city’s animal control officer — helped a kitten stuck in a storm drain Thursday morning.
Karen Sokolow of Bridgeport was driving near the intersection of Hill and North Spring streets when a black and white kitten crossed her path.
“I saw this little cat cross the road with all this traffic,” she said. “And then all of the sudden I saw it disappear.”
Sokolow was off to get gas but was pestered by a nagging feeling.
“I think that cat fell through the grate,” she thought.
So she drove back, and sure enough, the kitten had fallen through the catch basin. The kitten sat precariously on a rock trying to stay out of the murky water about 8 feet under the street.
“I heard it cry so I knew it was still alive, so I called the cops,” she said.
Officer Mark Guillet, Sgt. Edward Henry and Sgt. Randy Giusto arrived. Public works employee Judd Blaze opened the heavy grate, but police couldn’t grab the little kitten.
Ansonia Animal Control Officer Jean Roslonowski arrived, with a box to put the kitten in.
Then firefighters Chris Godfrey (Charter Hose), Tyler Reese (Webster Hose), and Dondre Bibby (Eagle Hose) arrived in fire truck — with that all-important ladder.
Reese was the skinniest, so he went down into the hole after someone handed him an empty 12-pack of Sam Adams in which to quickly transport the kitten to the surface.
He wore gloves in case the kitten decided to go “all ninja,” in the words of one of the volunteer firefighters.
And that was that.
Roslonowski wrapped the shivering kitten in a towel and away it went for a checkup.
At least two people expressed an interest in adopting the kitten by the time Roslonowski made it to her car at 10:30 a.m.
