One of my favorite calls that we ever responded to was the call for a cat stuck in a tree. I know it's the old cliche call but what transpired from this call is still one of the best one liners I had heard. We had a slow afternoon at the station and this middle aged woman had called dispatch worried about her cat stuck in a tree. Unfortunately in our area we do not have animal control sector so often times either we take the call or the sheriffs office does and since we are the guys with the ladders we decided to take it. We get out on scene in a regular duty truck because there's no way the chief would be happy if we brought out the tanker. Immediately we are met by the woman that called this in demanding that we go back and get the "big truck" so we can get her cat down. At that point our Sergeant is trying his best to talk to her but she is not having it. Then she dropped the phrase that many firefighters and police officers know all to well the good ole "My taxes pay your salary so you will do it". It was at that moment I knew she had messed up. My sergeant with perfect timing looks the woman dead in her eyes and loudly says "Ma'am in all of your years on this earth have you ever seen a freakin cat skeleton in a tree". The confused look on her face was priceless as she blurted out no. He then looked at her and said "Exactly because when the cat is ready or hungry it will come down as they always do which is exactly why you have never seen a cat skeleton in a tree". After that we got the usual I'm gonna call your boss claim but it was so worth it. But now I occasionally catch myself looking up at trees to see if there is a cat skeleton in them. Just so you know the answer is no I have not seen one.
