ESTEVAN — A day that started as a potential tragedy for one local cat, turned out to be not just a good ending, but also a possible happy beginning, thanks to Const. Jeff Fry with the Estevan Police Service.
It was snowing and windy on Nov. 28 and Fry, who works for the Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS), was in Estevan doing some patrols. He was driving down Fourth Street when two vehicles in front of him hit the brakes hard. His first thought was there is an accident, but one of the vehicles left, and it became obvious that something else was happening.
"There was a young woman in a car. She got out and started walking around her car. And then it dawned on me that it was probably an animal," Fry recalled. "So, I put on my lights and went up to find out what was going on. She said that there was a kitten on the road."
Fry noted that the driver was caring and smart about the situation. She stopped and was honking her horn, trying to scare the kitten out from underneath the vehicle. But it didn't work out, so the constable ended up helping to get the animal.
"I had to basically lay on the road and reach under and I grabbed the kitten. It was by the back tire," Fry said. "The kitten was more or less all right. So I thanked the young woman, took the kitten in the car and phoned the humane society, but they weren't open on Monday."
Fry ended up taking the animal to a vet to get it checked out and treated. From there, the kitten was transferred to the Estevan Humane Society.
"I went and checked on the kitten at the humane society. And when they take in animals like this, they quarantine them just to make sure they don't have any diseases to spread," Fry said. "I visited with the kitten and then left for the day. It was a good story, a good ending anyway, because of the actions of the young lady. She probably would have run over it, but she was smart to stop, and then everything turned out really well."
If no one claims it, Fry is looking into adopting Lucky – the new name he chose for the little rescue.
"I am an animal guy. I do have some cats at home. And it's always tough for me personally, because I am an animal guy, to see something like this happen and then not want to do anything about it," Fry shared. "So while I was at the humane society, I asked them to name the cat Lucky. And then, once its quarantine [is done], if I convince my wife, [and nobody claims it], then I might be able to adopt it."
He added that it seemed that Lucky is a stray cat, it was very dirty, had an eye infection and was very underweight for his age. Fry said he will keep checking on the kitten to see how things are in a bit.
While last Monday became a turning point for this lost local cat, it also helped spread some good vibes in the community.
"Gotta give a big rave to the gal who stopped her car on Fourth, in the middle of a blizzard, put her flashers on and waited in the cold while a police officer, on hands and knees, tried to get a very cold, frightened kitten out from under it. You've renewed my faith in humanity," posted a user named Kelly Joseph on a Facebook page after the incident (all grammar and spelling have been left unedited).
Fry added he believes any of his colleagues would act the same way to save the animal.
"In a situation like this, I think any police officer would have stopped and done the same thing," Fry said.
