22 August 2025
Rudolph is a cat owned by our neighbor, Chloe Jones. My door
bell rang last evening around 6:00 and there stood Maddie, Chloe’s sister. She
said “ Mr. Vass, Chloe’s cat is stuck in a hole in your car. Can you come and
look the situation over?”
Upon investigation I see a leash leading out of the engine
on my RAV 4. I raised the hood on the RAV and ultimately lock eyes with Rudolph.
He has on a collar and leading from the collar is the leash.
Ultimately it is discovered that Rudolph is stuck
irretrievably where he is. The leash is tethered apparently to some engine part
and no amount of tugging is bringing Rudolph out of his place.
We put some tuna fish on the ground under the car, we squirt
him with a spray bottle of water and then we get the hose and hit him with a
steady stream. He does not move. I get a golf club from my garage, a sand iron,
and lay down along side the car and reach and get it under his collar. I pull
on that and he does not budge.
I assign Maddie to continue to squirt him with the hose. I
call my son, Drew. He is a Special agent with the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement. He advises he will call me back. He ultimately calls back and
suggests that I drive down the street to Engine #7 of the Tallahassee Fire
Department and explain the predicament.
I make the brief drive. I ring a doorbell at the fire
station. A very nice young fireman comes to the door and asks if he can help
me. I explain the situation and he says to please give him a moment and he will
speak to his lieutenant. He reappears and says we will meet you at your home.
I return to my driveway and check with Maddie. She is still
squirting water into my engine onto Rudolph. In a couple of minutes these
firemen come riding up in the fire engine with lights flashing and we all gather
around my car and look into the engine.
There is no sign of Rudolph. He is GONE. I presume he has
unwedged himself and ran for his life without anyone detecting his hasty exit.
The unattached collar and leash is evidence of his departure. There was no sign
of him. I assume that since we attempted to drown him he was having nothing to
do with any of us.
About an hour later I get a text from Chloe’s mom, Kathryn.
She advises me that Chloe has Rudolph in hand. She strolled around her yard and
called his name and he ultimately came running to his cat Mommy.
Lessons learned:
Don’t put a leash on your pet and release him into the
neighborhood.
Our First Responders are kind and benevolent reservoirs of
help and assistance when you need them. No wonder that we refer to them, here
in Tallahassee, as Home Town Heroes. They are just that.
