Post by katt on Jun 14, 2010 18:35:24 GMT -5
So my iguana Tito and I have had quite the exciting day. I am sitting at work, exhausted from being up the last several nights because my Mom made a very surprise visit to town and I have been doing stuff with her on top of my already overloaded schedule. My phone rings and I pick it up to hear my roommate screaming "KATT KATT!!!! KATT!!!! Tito is in the tree!!!!!" Turns out my roommate was getting ready for work and heard a weird noise on the balcony. She looked out to see the flower pots all tipped over and Tito sitting on the balcony! Knowing she would try to escape, my roommate took a long branch and tried to reach over her to shoo her away from the edge of the balcony where she was happily perched. That made her move closer to the edge. So my roommate grabbed a towel and tried to snatch him up really quickly, but before she was even out the door on teh balcony, Tito saw the towel and JUMPED!!!! To a 100 ft plus pine tree about 4-7 feet away from the balcony! She landed on a lower (but still high up - I am on the 3rd floor) branch and ran up the tree!!!! COMPLETELY out of reach! The tree was NOT climbable. So I leave work after explaining to my - thankfully - understanding boss that my iguana is stuck in a tree, and rush home. When I got there she was in the tree out of sight against the trunk. Probably as happy as can be with her freedom!
Naturally I am freaking out - I mean how to you get an iguana out of an 80 foot pine tree?!?! I put a dish of greens and fruit and all of her favorites on the balcony but I doubted it would work. I called animal control and they said that they did not deal with animals stuck in trees and referred me to the fire department. So....I had to call the fire department and, once again, explain that my Iguana - yes, not a cat, an iguana - was stuck in a tree. The lady at emergency dispatch said that she wasn't sure that they were allowed to do that and had to talk to the Fire Marshall. I waited and watched the tree, calling everyone I knew to see if they on an off chance had any ridiculously tall ladders, and waited for a call back. A few minutes later I get a message on my phone (it is broken and didn't ring apparently) that they are on their way. My roommate and I frantically moved all of our furred pets into her room (only reptile and fish are allowed, but we have a few secret fuzzies -Koda and some hamsters and a chinchilla- that we had to hide in case they needed to come up). Then I had to go tell the landlord - oh don't worry about the fire truck - it's just my iguana stuck in a tree. haha
A little later the fire truck pulls up and I, quite embarrassed, walk over to greet them and point out the tree from the ground while my roommate on the balcony points to where she last saw him. After several minutes of trying to see her (and failing) and estimating how high up she was they decided that their ladder was not tall enough and called the aerial truck with the huge ladder. They were across town so we had to wait - in them meanwhile we kept trying to see her in the tree. They had a lot of questions and I had to explain what she looked like and how big she was, how heavy, etc. they asked if she was friendly...I laughed and was like "well...actually...No . She is not really aggressive, but she was abused and is afraid of people." They asked if I have ever been bitten and if it hurt: "Yes, I have been bitten twice. They have shark teeth - serrated, triangular teeth with Strong jaws." Will she bite? "If she is scared, which she probably is/will be, so yeah probably. She has claws too. Sharp ones - Wear Gloves." hahaha We were all talking waiting for the truck and they asked more questions while I answered. I explained to them how to grab her and not to grab her tail. They asked how to hold her and climb down the ladder and if she would squirm and try to escape. I said yes... Had they ever done this before someone asked. Their reply..."With cats! Never an iguana! haha."
...so then we had to figure out a way to get her down once they grabbed her. They decided on a bag and I said that would work well. After thinking and looking they weren't sure if they had a bag, and asked about a duffel bag so I had to explain that they could not hold her in the bag, zip it, and hold onto the ladder. Finally we decided on a pillowcase. The second fire truck finally arrived and we went through the process again of pointing out the tree and such. They pop out the props and start the ladder up while another firefighter stands on the truck with binoculars looking for her. This is all happening in the tiny, narrow parking lot of my apartment building. The landlord, and most of the neighbors that were home had come out to watch. Everyone was VERY entertained! lmao They look and look and the guy on the ladder cannot see her. Thinking that she climbed farther up, they move the ladder and try again. The guy on the ladder is looking all through the branches while my roommate stands on the balcony directing him to where she saw him last, and I am waiting on the ground with gloves in case she falls or jumps.
All of a sudden the fireman on the truck with the binoculars calls me over and says that he can see her in the other tree (there is a cluster of about 5 trees right there) so apparently she jumped over. They, once again, move the ladder and start looking in the other tree. I could not see Tito but I saw several branches move and a shadow fly as she starts jumping branches. Finally the fireman catches her and heads down the ladder with a squirming red pillow case in his hand! Tito was saved!!!! She was NOT happy in the pillow case, and they all wanted to see her, so I pulled her (CAREFULLY) out of the pillowcase just enough for them all to see what they had saved. Their response was priceless. lol They were all like "Oh wow!" and "Look at that!" "She really does have some claws!" Etc. They were fascinated. I thanked them profusely, and headed inside with Tito. I stopped by the landlord on the way up to let her know everything was ok (she really likes animals and likes seeing Tito). As soon as we were inside Tito was very calm. She was a little chilly, but not really cold, but she hung out in my hands a bit flustered, but not seeming as stressed as I thought she would be. I was impressed that she was not wild out of her mind and trying to escape and tail whip and bite, neither was she closing her eyes or anything like that. She seemed alert and curious of all things! What a little monster! haha I brought her upstairs and offered her a little treat thinking hydration would probably be good for her, but she would not take the treat. Naturally I wanted to get her under her light and heating back up and de-stressing so I tried to put her back in her cage under the light. she really didn't want to go (of course - she just tasted true freedom!) so I held her and just petted her and talked gently to try and soothe her a bit. (She as stressed of course, just not as bad as I had expected). Finally she calmed down and climbed off of my arm and into her cage and I helped her up to her basking spot.
So a few hours, 6 firefighters, and 2 firetrucks later Tito is back home and safe. Now she is sitting under her light looking quite pleased with herself! I think she enjoyed herself quite a bit until the fireman caught her! hahaha *shakes head* Oh Tito....
My roommate was taking pictures with her phone the whole time. I forgot to grab my video camera (stress of the moment) or I would have taken some videos. I will post the rest of the pictures that my roommate took when she sends them too me. For now here is her rescuer coming down with Tito in tow (in the red pillow case). Thank You Anchorage Fire Department for saving Tito!
Naturally I am freaking out - I mean how to you get an iguana out of an 80 foot pine tree?!?! I put a dish of greens and fruit and all of her favorites on the balcony but I doubted it would work. I called animal control and they said that they did not deal with animals stuck in trees and referred me to the fire department. So....I had to call the fire department and, once again, explain that my Iguana - yes, not a cat, an iguana - was stuck in a tree. The lady at emergency dispatch said that she wasn't sure that they were allowed to do that and had to talk to the Fire Marshall. I waited and watched the tree, calling everyone I knew to see if they on an off chance had any ridiculously tall ladders, and waited for a call back. A few minutes later I get a message on my phone (it is broken and didn't ring apparently) that they are on their way. My roommate and I frantically moved all of our furred pets into her room (only reptile and fish are allowed, but we have a few secret fuzzies -Koda and some hamsters and a chinchilla- that we had to hide in case they needed to come up). Then I had to go tell the landlord - oh don't worry about the fire truck - it's just my iguana stuck in a tree. haha
A little later the fire truck pulls up and I, quite embarrassed, walk over to greet them and point out the tree from the ground while my roommate on the balcony points to where she last saw him. After several minutes of trying to see her (and failing) and estimating how high up she was they decided that their ladder was not tall enough and called the aerial truck with the huge ladder. They were across town so we had to wait - in them meanwhile we kept trying to see her in the tree. They had a lot of questions and I had to explain what she looked like and how big she was, how heavy, etc. they asked if she was friendly...I laughed and was like "well...actually...No . She is not really aggressive, but she was abused and is afraid of people." They asked if I have ever been bitten and if it hurt: "Yes, I have been bitten twice. They have shark teeth - serrated, triangular teeth with Strong jaws." Will she bite? "If she is scared, which she probably is/will be, so yeah probably. She has claws too. Sharp ones - Wear Gloves." hahaha We were all talking waiting for the truck and they asked more questions while I answered. I explained to them how to grab her and not to grab her tail. They asked how to hold her and climb down the ladder and if she would squirm and try to escape. I said yes... Had they ever done this before someone asked. Their reply..."With cats! Never an iguana! haha."
...so then we had to figure out a way to get her down once they grabbed her. They decided on a bag and I said that would work well. After thinking and looking they weren't sure if they had a bag, and asked about a duffel bag so I had to explain that they could not hold her in the bag, zip it, and hold onto the ladder. Finally we decided on a pillowcase. The second fire truck finally arrived and we went through the process again of pointing out the tree and such. They pop out the props and start the ladder up while another firefighter stands on the truck with binoculars looking for her. This is all happening in the tiny, narrow parking lot of my apartment building. The landlord, and most of the neighbors that were home had come out to watch. Everyone was VERY entertained! lmao They look and look and the guy on the ladder cannot see her. Thinking that she climbed farther up, they move the ladder and try again. The guy on the ladder is looking all through the branches while my roommate stands on the balcony directing him to where she saw him last, and I am waiting on the ground with gloves in case she falls or jumps.
All of a sudden the fireman on the truck with the binoculars calls me over and says that he can see her in the other tree (there is a cluster of about 5 trees right there) so apparently she jumped over. They, once again, move the ladder and start looking in the other tree. I could not see Tito but I saw several branches move and a shadow fly as she starts jumping branches. Finally the fireman catches her and heads down the ladder with a squirming red pillow case in his hand! Tito was saved!!!! She was NOT happy in the pillow case, and they all wanted to see her, so I pulled her (CAREFULLY) out of the pillowcase just enough for them all to see what they had saved. Their response was priceless. lol They were all like "Oh wow!" and "Look at that!" "She really does have some claws!" Etc. They were fascinated. I thanked them profusely, and headed inside with Tito. I stopped by the landlord on the way up to let her know everything was ok (she really likes animals and likes seeing Tito). As soon as we were inside Tito was very calm. She was a little chilly, but not really cold, but she hung out in my hands a bit flustered, but not seeming as stressed as I thought she would be. I was impressed that she was not wild out of her mind and trying to escape and tail whip and bite, neither was she closing her eyes or anything like that. She seemed alert and curious of all things! What a little monster! haha I brought her upstairs and offered her a little treat thinking hydration would probably be good for her, but she would not take the treat. Naturally I wanted to get her under her light and heating back up and de-stressing so I tried to put her back in her cage under the light. she really didn't want to go (of course - she just tasted true freedom!) so I held her and just petted her and talked gently to try and soothe her a bit. (She as stressed of course, just not as bad as I had expected). Finally she calmed down and climbed off of my arm and into her cage and I helped her up to her basking spot.
So a few hours, 6 firefighters, and 2 firetrucks later Tito is back home and safe. Now she is sitting under her light looking quite pleased with herself! I think she enjoyed herself quite a bit until the fireman caught her! hahaha *shakes head* Oh Tito....
My roommate was taking pictures with her phone the whole time. I forgot to grab my video camera (stress of the moment) or I would have taken some videos. I will post the rest of the pictures that my roommate took when she sends them too me. For now here is her rescuer coming down with Tito in tow (in the red pillow case). Thank You Anchorage Fire Department for saving Tito!