Dear Editor,
New Years Day 2012 will never be forgotten by a young Princeton man, Joel Huckell, who made a treacherous rescue of a cat in spite of having a fear of height.
The large feline had been sitting at the top of my tree in freezing weather for two days.
Joel must have been driven by compassion when all attempts by neighbours to lure the cat to come down had failed.
A metal extension ladder was brought to the scene while I watched the bare-handed chap waste no time in climbing to where his foot was on the very top rung.
From that precarious position he attempted to get hold of the cat who would not co-operate.
While hanging onto a flimsy limb with one hand, he appeared to let the cat know that he wasn’t up there to play games.
I was amazed to watch Joel quickly pull its legs off the branch it was sitting on.
There was a bit of a juggling act when, suddenly, the cat fell down onto Joel’s chest.
He had to hold it firmly with one hand while carefully swinging around with the other hand to climb back down the ladder.
Another neighbour, Lacey, was waiting on the ground to take the trophy from Joel.
She cuddled the contented cat in both arms to give it the warmth of her body and took it into her home.
This is evidence that there are very caring young people living in Princeton.
I for one admire their bravery and kind heartedness as this picture depicts.
Now this episode takes another twist since I learned that it is a stray black cat with a white nose and two white paws.
The owner can claim this very lucky cat at #06 or #7 in Lynnwood Mobile Home Park.
Kay Hardy
Princeton