Monday evening during torrential rains throughout the region, a call came into the Hartford Dispatch Center reporting a meowing cat stuck in a storm drain on Nahum Drive. A dispatcher apparently dispatched a fire assignment to check put the situation.Almost immediately after the engine and District Chief were dispatched , the District Chief cancelled the action. Apparently unlike almost every other agency across the Country, according to the District Chief, "Hartford doesn't do cats".
Fortunately, a dispatcher didn't take the Hartford Fire Departments District Chiefs word as the final answer. The Dispatcher decided to try the Hartford Police to show some compassion for a creature in distress. She made the correct call. Sergeant Winston Brooks , who was the HPD street supervisor at the timer was called. Brooks has had his own unwarranted attention recently regarding not letting civilians into the Hartford Animal Shelter. Brooks was recently villainized on a Facebook page over his efforts to protect the City from unnecessary liability He would not allow civilians trying to have unsupervised access to the animal shelter
It seems minor, but imagine the law suits if HPD allowed someone unrestricted access and they were to be bit or mauled by a dangerous animal? These aren't all lovable puppies in the Shelter. So back to the cat, or as it eventually turned out, the kitten.
Brooks and several other HPD Officers responded to 73 Nahum Drive. Sure enough, the sounds of the cat in distress were clearly coming from the storm drain. HFD still refused to respond, the MDC was also less than responsive. Brooks and the HPD officers refused to allow the kitten to drown.
Officer Holly Donahue, clearly an animal lover as a HPD k-9 Officer was on her way home from what am I am told. Officer Donahue is also a member of the HPD Dive Team and she heard the radio conversations about the rescue effort. She immediately responded back into the City, donned her dry suit ( like a wet suit but it is sealed instead of letting water in) She offered to be lowered down into the storm drain on a rope and attempt to coax the kitten out for the rescue.
This was also as the rain continued and flash flood warnings were in place throughout the state. Probably not the safest thing to do or the best place to be, but HFD still refused to assist. Besides, Mike and Molly was on TV and who wants to go outside in a rain storm just to rescue a kitten in distress. The cops are on the streets all the time anyway, so they are used to it.
The rescue attempt was successful, the 8 month old kitten probably used up one of its 9 lives but it lived to see another day thanks to Officer Donahue, Sergeant Brooks and all the other HPD personnel involved. Shame on HFD for turning their backs on a creature in distress. Where is the Facebook page about that?
