NY Daily News – June 14, 2015
by Thomas Tracy
First responders must have a soft spot for fur.
An abandoned poodle, a kitten trapped in a construction fence and a cat stuck in an engine block were all rescued by kindhearted cops and firefighters Friday.
Members of Engine Co. 268 in the Rockaways, Queens, took in an abandoned poodle found wandering on Rockaway Beach Blvd. at about 5:30 a.m. Friday, firefighters said. After a good Samaritan took the 8-year-old pooch to their firehouse, firefighters took the dog to an area vet to get checked out and groomed. Firefighters footed the vet bill.
“His hair was horribly matted and overgrown,” said Firefighter James Mangels. “Its nails were overgrown and full of ticks. It looked like a disaster so we just started to help it out.”
Firefighters named the pooch Playland in honor of the former Rockaway Playland amusement park.
Firefighters from Engine 260 in Long Island City were flagged down about 1:50 p.m. by workers at a construction site on 12th St.where a kitten was trapped inside a construction fence. Smoke-eaters took apart the fence to rescue the kitten.
The feline was taken back to the fire house where it posed for pictures lounging on a firefighter’s helmet.
Police Officer John Passarella freed a small cat trapped in the engine block of a minivan on Brighton 4th St. in Brighton Beach about 4:30 p.m.
“One of the cops at the scene calls me and said ‘You have experience getting cats out of trees. Can you get a cat out a car?’ ” said Passarella, who also works as a volunteer firefighter. The cat, named Pazzy, was taken in by the son of a fellow cop, Passarella said.
Playland and the kitten freed from the construction fence are expected to be put up for adoption.
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