An alert driver and Hood Canal Bridge crew help save tiny kitten
By Doug Adamson
Rescuing and providing aid to stranded boaters near the State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge is something our bridge crews train for and have experience in. This past month, the crew performed a rescue that will make animal lovers pause, or in this case, paws.
On July 25, a 911 call was routed to the bridge crew after a driver who was stopped on the bridge while the drawspan was open for a boat crossing heard repeated cries from a tiny animal. She shockingly saw a kitten precariously clinging to an air vent about 25 feet below the bridge deck.
It's not known how long the kitten was there or how the poor animal got there.
Hood Canal Bridge supervisor Paul Gahr first figured the noises were the high-pitched calls of a pigeon guillemot, a bird often found around the bridge. After a search didn't find anything unusual, something told Gahr to look again.
The black kitten was hard to see as it was clinging against the blackened backdrop created by generators. Scared and alone, the little animal jumped, falling about 20 feet to an area accessible only to crew members.
"I thought the worst, but the kitten didn't even have a scratch," Gahr said.
Hood Canal Bridge crew member Virginia Smith heard about the situation. Smith brought in a cat carrier from home which helped comfort and contain the kitten.
An examination by a nearby Port Ludlow veterinarian revealed the animal somehow wasn't hurt despite falling 25 feet and later another 20 feet.
Gahr called back the driver who first spotted the kitten in distress.
"The driver who spotted the kitten was thrilled it was OK, and then agreed to give the 8-week-old kitten a permanent home," Gahr said.
We didn't catch the name given to the kitten, but "Lucky" seems appropriate.
Rescuing and providing aid to stranded boaters near the State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge is something our bridge crews train for and have experience in. This past month, the crew performed a rescue that will make animal lovers pause, or in this case, paws.
On July 25, a 911 call was routed to the bridge crew after a driver who was stopped on the bridge while the drawspan was open for a boat crossing heard repeated cries from a tiny animal. She shockingly saw a kitten precariously clinging to an air vent about 25 feet below the bridge deck.
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| An alert driver and our Hood Canal Bridge crew rescued this stray kitten from the bridge. |
It's not known how long the kitten was there or how the poor animal got there.
Hood Canal Bridge supervisor Paul Gahr first figured the noises were the high-pitched calls of a pigeon guillemot, a bird often found around the bridge. After a search didn't find anything unusual, something told Gahr to look again.
The black kitten was hard to see as it was clinging against the blackened backdrop created by generators. Scared and alone, the little animal jumped, falling about 20 feet to an area accessible only to crew members.
 |
| Hood Canal Bridge crew member Virginia Smith shows where the tiny kitten was stuck and rescued from (see red arrow) on the bridge. |
"I thought the worst, but the kitten didn't even have a scratch," Gahr said.
Hood Canal Bridge crew member Virginia Smith heard about the situation. Smith brought in a cat carrier from home which helped comfort and contain the kitten.
An examination by a nearby Port Ludlow veterinarian revealed the animal somehow wasn't hurt despite falling 25 feet and later another 20 feet.
 |
| The rescued kitten is now in the home of the driver who originally reported hearing it on the bridge. |
Gahr called back the driver who first spotted the kitten in distress.
"The driver who spotted the kitten was thrilled it was OK, and then agreed to give the 8-week-old kitten a permanent home," Gahr said.
We didn't catch the name given to the kitten, but "Lucky" seems appropriate.
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