DERBY LINE — The local owner/operator of a tree removal service in Orleans county took part in a dramatic rescue on Thursday, climbing over 60 feet in the air to save a cat that had been stuck in a tree located at the Derby Line Village Inn.
Aaron Chapdelaine of Ace Tree Removal received a call on Thursday that the owners of the Derby Line Village Inn were trying to get a cat down from a tree on their property. Paula Fiorenza, who owns the Inn, had been desperately trying to get help, even calling Newport Rental to see if they had any equipment she could rent to lift someone up high enough to safely rescue the animal.
“The cat had spent at least one night in the tree, and I could tell it was dying because the cries were getting softer and softer,” Fiorenza said. “I was just frantic, calling everyone, and Newport Rental put me in touch with Aaron.”
For Chapdelaine, it was not his first rescue. He has used his experience climbing trees to rescue a cat before, but ended up getting scratched in the process. He says he thinks the animal this time had been stuck up there for a while, because it was noticeably weak when he approached it.
“I shot a line above the cat and came down toward it,” Chapdelaine said on Friday. “When I swung over to the cat, as soon as my hand was near it nuzzled its face into my hand.”
Chapdelaine said that the cat was extremely trusting, and willingly jumped inside a bag he had climbed up with to safely bring it down in.
One of the challenges he faced on Thursday was having to use ropes to climb with because the tree was so large that his spikes wouldn’t work.
“The average tree that I climb for takedowns is anywhere between 60 and 90 feet tall,” Chapdelaine said “It was really hard to climb this particular tree because it is just so massive. It was like climbing a wall.”
Fiorenza is trying to locate the owner.
“The cat is doing good, but she was in pretty bad shape last night,” Fiorenza said.
She said that Feline and Friends were helping her complete the rescue.
“Aaron was amazing,” she added.
