In fact, it was a purrfect rescue and another day on the job for the volunteer crew members who pass no judgement when someone, or their four-legged friends, are in need.

In  2018, the Port Macquarie SES unit has so far rescued a number of cats and dogs, as well as a number of other animals across the Hastings region.

Mark Anderson, unit deputy training officer, said as the main rescue agency in Port Macquarie, the SES unit is called out to wide variety of jobs every week – not all involving humans.

“Our core responsibilities are to help people in times of storm, floods and tsunamis but as an accredited rescue unit we are the lead emergency services at land rescues in the local area,” Mr Anderson said.

“The land rescues includes motor vehicle accidents and people falling from cliffs.

“However something people might not know about us is that we are also perform rescues involving domesticated pets and animals who rely on humans to live.

“This might include cows, horses or sheep who need humans to survive.”

Mr Anderson said on Friday, November 9, local volunteers were called out to Telegraph Point to help a cat stuck in a tree.

“On Friday, our unit completed our 12^th cat rescue for the year, rescuing a cat from a very tall tree at Telegraph Point,” he said.

“We had to set up a ropes system in the trees to try an eliminate most of the branches the cat would look to jump to in order to catch it and return the cat to its owner.

“Eventually with the cat isolated, the branch was cut but was secured and slowly lowered to the ground with the cat still attached.”

He said these kinds of calls do happen quite often with concerned owners calling the SES to help.

“We do regularly get calls from distressed owners who have found their pets in difficult situations and we then come along and help free the much-loved animals.

“This cat was a much-loved member of the family and they were very pleased we came to help.”

The cat rescue follows the rescue of a particularly hairy dog stuck in the clasp of its owner’s bracelet.

The owner was unable to detach the dog herself one-handed and as the dog struggled, the entanglement became worse.

The panicked pooch turned around and bit the owner on the hand which added more injury to the already bruised wrist. However with the help of the SES crew, the dog and owner were separated.

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