Hero Cat Saves Life of Ohio Resident

Move over canines, the felines have joined the rescue scene. Police aren’t sure how it could have happened, but when an officer in Columbus, Ohio walked into an apartment recently to answer a 911 call, an orange-and-tan striped cat was lying by a telephone on the living room floor. Cat owner, Gary Rosheisen, was on the floor near his bed having fallen out of his wheelchair.

Rosheisen said his cat, Tommy, must have hit the right buttons to call 911.

“I know it sounds kind of weird,” Officer Patrick Daugherty said, searching for some other explanation according to a Chicago Tribune account.

Rosheisen said he couldn’t get up because of his painful osteoporosis and ministrokes that affect his balance. He also couldn’t reach a cord above his pillow that alerts paramedics that he needs help.

Police said they received a 911 call from Rosheisen’s apartment, but there was no one on the phone so they decided to check things out.

That’s when Officer Daugherty found Tommy next to the phone.

According to Rosheisen the cat has lived with him for three years. He tried to train him to call 911, unsure if the cat actually got it. The phone in the living room is always on the floor, and there are 12 small buttons — including a speed dial for 911 right above the button for the speaker phone.

“He’s my hero,” Rosheisen said.

Topics Ohio