Firefighters rescue determined German shepherd who got stuck in a tree while chasing a cat
It seems that one California German shepherd barked up the wrong tree. Baby, a two-year-old German shepherd had to be rescued by local firefighters after getting stuck at the top of the large tree near her home in Lathrop, CA. The reason she was in the tree was because she was chasing a cat.
Baby chases a cat up a tree
Rescuers received a call about a large dog stuck in a tree. When they arrived on the scene, they could hardly believe their eyes
“I think in my 10 years of experience of being in fire/EMS, that’s the first I heard of a dog in a tree,” firefighter Marty Ortiz said in a WSLS 10 interview. “You can see a full-grown German shepherd perched atop a large tree and you can see the cat at the end of the limb, and they were still interacting with each other.”
Baby finds herself in a precarious position
Baby’s owner, Sharon Thurston, said she only took her eyes off of Baby for a few minutes. Before she knew it, Baby was gone, chasing after the cat. It was only when she heard her pup barking that she looked to see Baby stuck at the top of the tree. Her first thoughts were for her dog’s safety.
“I looked up and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s going to fall,’” Thurston said.
Baby’s owner called 911
On her friend’s advice, she called 911 to get help. The first person to pick up the phone was Larry Madoski, who at first thought the call was a prank.
“Well this is a first,” Madoski remembers saying. “I immediately placed a phone call to find out if somebody was kidding with me.”
Rescuers show up to save Baby
After arriving, rescuers worked quickly to get the dog, whose leash had gotten tangled in the branches, down from the tree. Meanwhile, Thurston looked on from the ground, frightened at what might happen. Once Baby was back on the ground, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“That dog is my baby,” she said. “She’s everything to me.”
The firefighters performed admirably
It was quite the feat for rescuers as a female German shepherd can weigh up to 70 pounds, according to the American Kennel Club. The firefighters were able to reach baby using an extension ladder and she was carefully removed from the large tree from there.
Hopefully, this was a lesson learned for Baby
Baby was returned safely to the ground where Thurston awaited. As for the cat, it found its way down once Baby was removed from the situation. Thurston doesn’t know much about the cat, only that it is still running around every day and antagonizing her dog. Hopefully, she keeps Baby on a tight leash in the future.
As for Baby, an Official with the Lathrop Manteca Fire District commented in a post on social media, writing “We are all pretty sure she’ll think twice about chasing cats up the next tree.”
Here is a video with more on Baby’s harrowing experience.
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