Woman Calls 911 Saying "Her Baby"Was Trapped

[David]

Turns out "Baby" is the name of her cat. Should she be charged? AP
Call for trapped 'baby' ends with cat rescue

12:49 PM CST on Thursday, December 1, 2005

Associated Press

HOUSTON - Many people treat their pets like children, but a woman is in legal trouble after calling 911 and claiming that her "baby," which turned out to be a cat named Baby, was stuck in the sewer.

The woman, who was not immediately identified, called the Houston Fire Department three times saying that her cat was stuck in the sewer, according to police. On the fourth call the woman said her 2-year-old baby was stuck in the sewer.

The firefighters arrived expecting to find a child, but rescued the feline from the sewer anyway. Police gave the woman a ticket for making a false report, a Class B misdemeanor.

"They said they were desperate, didn't know what else to do," Houston Fire Department Capt. Keith Ellery told Houston television station KPRC. "They didn't know who else to call so they called 911. It is not the type of rescue we normally do ... but on this particular incident, we felt compelled to kind of help them out."

Members of the woman's family tried to rescue the cat themselves before calling for help.

[joe]

She should be charged.

[peety]

It's ok, charge it to the city and phrase the woman who tried to save her kitty but ran into the stupidity of the system.

We are turning into a society of selfish numbnuts who doesn't give a damn about anything but themselves. Money, Money, Money rules.

Why not? they give billions to illegals, more billions to trash like Tooki that should have been given the needle 19 years ago on death row.

More billions to corrupt companies and governments that are wholesale stealing.

More billions to lazy bums who wait for welfare checks, ie: New Orleans.

Compared to the above gross wastes, seems like such a little thing to dispatch a engine on a kind deed.

[rachel]

It does seem that way peety, but would you think it was such a little thing if a loved one died because an emergency vehicle was a few minutes too late arriving at the scene? "Sorry bud, we were pulling a cat out of a sewer."

I would like to know if this woman called animal control before she called the fire department. Or called the city's municipal offices and offered to pay to have a sewer worker come out.

And mind you, I am fiercely protective of my cats, and would go to great lengths to save them in like circumstances. But if I filed a false report with any branch of First Responders to do so, I would expect and take the consequences.

[peety]

First fault, the stupid dispatch. This woman tried to get help three times and no one had the sense to direct her to the right place.

I know that is the typical answer but that answer is not reality. No they can't be at two places at the same time but the chances of something happening at the same time when they have multiple companies is very, very small, about nil.

So nil that those chances are taken everyday in every place of business throughout the world, otherwise, the world couldn't survive trying to second guess every possible situation.

You can then say that for all the other animal rescues you hear of then, are they all taking a grave risk that someone might be in need at the same time? yet they do it don't they?

What about all the times the fire or rescue got "delayed" like that case in Oakland, 30 minutes delayed, because of budget cuts as they they claim?. Did someone perish because of those "delays"?.

The truth is, they are not that tightly strapped like they are the only ones available. If that were the case, they would be indispensible and could not even afford to get sick.

[rachel]

First fault, the stupid dispatch. This woman tried to get help three times and no one had the sense to direct her to the right place.

We don't know that. The article states that she called the fire department 3 times before she called and lied. It doesn't state what the dispatcher told her regarding whom she should call for help, if the dispatcher told her anything.

No they can't be at two places at the same time but the chances of something happening at the same time when they have multiple companies is very, very small, about nil.

I'm sure that statistics would be very comforting to you if you were the one who lost a loved one. However, unless you can post some statistics verifying that the chance is very, very small, about nil, I must let my original comment stand. I don't know if you live in Houston or not, and I'm not all that familiar with the city, it's budget or it's facilities...but I do know that in crime-ridden Richmond, California, bursts of automatic gunfire can be heard of a night on a fairly regular basis, followed by no sirens...see, they have so many calls, they only respond if there is an injury or death reported. I don't imagine that a Richmond resident would get immediate attention for her puddy-cat in a tree either.

You can then say that for all the other animal rescues you hear of then, are they all taking a grave risk that someone might be in need at the same time? yet they do it don't they?

Dunno, maybe they are, maybe they aren't. I'd have to see their personel rosters and the statistics on their crime rates. And, be made aware of what the particular conditions were of that particular case. Did several First Responders call in sick that day? Were they short-staffed because of emergencies already being attended to? Was the area to where they were being called to rescue a cat just down the street or 12 miles out of town on a windy, mountain road that would take half an hour to negotiate both ways?

What about all the times the fire or rescue got "delayed" like that case in Oakland, 30 minutes delayed, because of budget cuts as they they claim?. Did someone perish because of those "delays"?.

I'm not sure what something that may or may not have happened in Oakland has to do with the feasability of rescuing sewer-trapped kittens in Houston.

It may very well be that someone perished because of delays brought about by budget cuts in one city or another. It also may be very well that people perish every day because we as taxpayers don't want to fit the bill for mobile hospitals in every rescue vehicle, but does that mean that the drivers of regular old ambulances should spend time rescuing family pets or jimmying people's car locks 'cause they locked their keys inside since they can't save ever life anyway?

The truth is, they are not that tightly strapped like they are the only ones available. If that were the case, they would be indispensible and could not even afford to get sick.

Ah, you must be in possession of facts I am not. Please provide the information you have that illustrates that no matter how many First Responders are called out on jobs, there are always others available to man the phones and head out to human life threatening situations regardless of how many feline rescue calls are attended to.

Hey peety, I am not trying to say that Firemen sitting around staring at the ceiling and wiping cobwebs off their shoulders shouldn't rescue kitties. I love cats! I'm just saying that the article doesn't provide enough information for me to want to scowl at, let alone tar and feather the firemen involved.

One thing I do know about Houston, is that it's a city, not a one-horse town. How many kitties get caught on rooftops, in sewers, up trees, in cellars, on too-high garden walls, in Houston every day? How many people need rescuing every day? How many rescuers are there?

[seattlegal]

How well did this woman caller speak English? How well did the dispatchers speak English, for that matter?

[NightMgr]

I'm guessing a fire department run would be justified if she's simply told the truth that "other people are trying to go down into the hole to get the cat and I think they're in danger of getting stuck."

It was probably easier and safer for everyone concerned for the FD to get the cat rather than rescue some samaritan stuck trying to get to the cat.

[joe]

I'm not sure why it is considered an emergency to get a cat out of the sewer. We have had these discussions before and I know some owners are very emotional about their pets, but to many people treat their animals like humans.

I don't want to see any animal suffer. If the PD or FD can get there in a timely manner, wonderful. There may be some wrong doing on the part of the dispatcher, but that is not clear. However, when you call and deliberately misrepresent your needs to the emergency dispatcher, that is wrong. I don't see how that can be justified.

[peety]

Rachel, like I said, some of what you say is unrealistic and comes from a ideal supposition that may not exist.

All I'm saying Rachel is, there are certain degrees of chances in everything we do daily. You can't say something so abstract as "what if your loved one died" when they were on another call.

That maybe so but that's all included in the chances I mentioned we all take daily. If it happens to me or you, that's just the way it goes. It's a part of life, like getting beat out of a deal at the store in another sense, we can't second guess most things.

It's the same as saying, if I go out today, I may get hit by a car. None of us can live like that. It's like playing the "what if" game.

I still don't understand why the dispatch or any of them (they all have radios) didn't direct the call to the proper agency after they found out it was for a animal.

I'm not bashing the fire or anyone else, they all do an admirable job and I say further, "consider the alternative" (no police or fire)

seattlegal, You can be certain, in a city like Houston, they have a 911 dispatch or someone on tap that talks all languages.

Hi Joe, no it's not an emergency. That's why I question why the dispatch didn't do the right re-directing, (could it be plain incompetence?) seems there was enough time to do so.

NightMgr, Yes I agree, calling a false report is wrong. I'm a biggie on incompetence everywhere these days, especially with the PC hiring whether a person is qualified or not. This even goes to the highest offices of the land and much of the problems, confusions and lowering of standards today is caused by it.

[joe]

Peety,
Is it the responsibility of the Dispatcher to redirect the call for this situation? I think it would be courteous to do so, but no obligation required. No matter, charges should be filed against her for misrepresenting the facts.

I will ask my brother-in-law this weekend, who is a police officer, what the protocols are.

[peety]

I'm agreeing with you Joe, Yes, she should have consequences for a false call.

The first person to answer a 911 call, isn't that the dispatcher? I thought so. They are the ones to first determine the severity of the situtation and contact the right agency or department whether police, fire, highway patrol, animal control etc.

[joe]

The first person to answer a 911 call, isn't that the dispatcher?

Peety,
According to the article, 9-1-1 was not the first person called, it was the fire department on three occasions. Normally you get a receptionist if you call them direct. Once a Dispatcher was called, the 4th call, an emergency crew was sent to rescue a baby, but later learned it was a cat.

Maybe I am missing something here.

[peety]

Ok, Joe, the point is, what ever their title, they have worked in the field apparently and should have a good idea what to do with the call. Surely the receptionist could have called someone more knowledgable.

At least that's what one would hope, but today, as my last post, who knows with again, gross incompetence or lack of responsibility in too many places.

Or, am I assuming or hoping too much for the worker today? I worked in a time where you learned as much as possible in whatever field. And took responsibility to do anyone's job should they be absent. There wasn't such a thing as "it's someone else's job".

Maybe I'm in dreamland, do you think Art Bell might need help?

[joe]

Peety,
We don't know what the receptionist did or didn't do. We don't even know if she told the truth about calling the FD three times. It's what she said she did. Since she lied about the baby, she may have lied about that too. Some of this is speculation.

I can understand your thoughts on what a trained receptionist would be able to do, but let's speculate three calls were made. She may have attempted to contact someone else and had to leave a message. She could have paged someone waiting for a response. People are not always available to take our call. The lady hangs-up and calls back again and again. Finally she calls 9-1-1 and says, "My baby is trapped.....".

I worked in a time where you learned as much as possible in whatever field.

That time has not ceased. Actually, I think today's workers are burdened with more responsibilities as employers cut back on their number of employees. For example, before I came to my job, I learned afterwards that three people used to do what I was doing and I have even assumed more responsibility as my job developed, especially after my boss quit. Maybe those other three were not efficient, but the roles of responsibility were more divided.

There wasn't such a thing as "it's someone else's job".

That is kind of like saying, "When I was young, I was good. The older I get, the better I was." Sometimes we get caught up into thinking people did more yesterday than they do today.

[peety]

Let's not spend time on speculation Joe, Life is too short.
I have to respectfully disagree on a lot of workers today Joe, and you may have hit it right on the head, they are burdened with too many responsibilities, in fact, that may be the reason there is so much, well, there's that word again, incompetence.

Not talking about the countless good, honest and hard working individuals out there, there are plenty and they need take no offense.

I can't give you exact percentages, I go more by what I see practically daily as I conduct business. Most will have to admit, there is plain, I won't use that word again, Lets say laziness this time. Not EVERY job of course but a whole lot of them, especially in jobs where your guaranteed a position. I don't need to be specific who they are.

I need to translate "it's someone else's job". I believe you are very good and responsbile in your job Joe. But the plain fact is, a great many are not, especially if your a part of the above group. Not talking about individual specific cases here, but the wider gamut.

Anyway let's drop it Joe, I'm tired of talking about this bad stuff. There are other things rather than the growing ills of society. Everybody has their valid ideas and it will play out for all to see in the long run.

peety

[joe]

Peety,
My point is that we don't have enough information to make an informed decision about who the lady called at the FD and what they in turn did. If she didn't call it in as an emergency, they may not have treated it as such. Anything can happen from that point. We do know she lied to 9-1-1.

I believe people can be promoted to the highest level of their incompetence. In other words, people are in positions they don't belong in, but are placed there for difference reasons. I don't believe most workers are lazy or incompetent in their positions only because of the environments I have been associated with.

There are times I don't want to take on additional responsibility, because I know what is currently on my plate. I have been down that road and new managers don't know where you have been. Then something you are primarily responsible for doesn't get done, because you were handling a secondary responsibilty that took longer than you expected simply because a person was out on vacation or sick. However, I have a hard time not trying to help someone if I know at least the direction to go or where to direct them. I do believe that if we don't help a customer, they will find someone else that will.

[Rockrz]

Originally Posted by joe

She should be charged.

Yes, but how much is fair?

What if she doesn't have enough to pay for emergency services showing up?

[joe]

Yes, but how much is fair?

I don't know. That is in the hands of the court.

What if she doesn't have enough to pay for emergency services showing up?

Community service time.

[NetGear]

Unfortunately, she didn't think that one through...

Her local fire house would have been happy to help out. All she needed to do was go by the station. I know a number of firefighters, and they all love animals and are willing to help.

Community service sounds good, if anything. Let her help out at the local SPCA for a few days.

The dispatcher should have asked specific questions, which would have led to determining that it was a cat. Fact is, to that lady, this was an emergency (life at risk); good dispatchers know how to classify a call, properly.

BTW... Welcome, Rockrz.