Cat, 1; consumers, 0
Monday, August 9, 2010
It took two work crews, one bucket truck, and two flagmen to rescue a cat stuck on a hydro pole near Ottawa. But the power distributor isn't talking about what it cost to bring that cat down.
"We have not assigned a specific cost as we had crews in the vicinity and they were able to accommodate the request for assistance without impacting their work schedule or workload," says Daniele Gauvin, a spokesperson for Hydro One. She explains resources used had to do with the type of line on the pole and traffic on the adjacent road.
YourOttawaRegion.com said a dog chased the "older barn cat" up the pole three days before. The electrical utility was receiving daily calls from the local branch of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as well as members of the community, including a YourOttawaRegion.com pet columnist. "Normally cats when they're hungry or at some point they decide to come down so we don't respond on the first day," Gauvin explains. Hydro One was letting nature take its course, until an angry animal lover got its attention.
A telephoned threat to chainsaw the pole to rescue the animal created a public safety issue, Gauvin says.
She did not say if the call was made anonymously.
According to YourOttawaRegion.com, some rescue workers observed the older cat would not make a good adoption candidate, had not had its shots and would likely be destroyed. BF