05/25/2026
Call it co-processing, genre crossover, whatever, but yesterday was a full day of canvassing and animal rescue in District 21. We were grabbing a quick workout before neighborhood knocking when we received a frantic message from a Samaritan in Reedley about a local stray who’d been mauled by a dog. At the site, Team K4C member James Miser Jr. and Kirkland Foundation rescuer Joey Phipps found a young, gray cat motionless in the brush and gently secured her for transport to our facility in Clovis. The little one passed from her injuries, but she was safe and loved when she left this world for the next.
Then, while heading down to knock doors in Selma, we received a message from Sanger Animal Control about a dirty Siamese kitten stuck in a storm drain. The AC officer’s trap had failed to trip and the little one had scurried deeper into the drain. Could we help? We told AC we would respond later that night, forwarded the location to , and at 4 AM, superstar Joey texted a photo of the little one, soggy but safe.
Finally, after knocking on 150+ doors and untangling flags in Selma to warm feedback (“I voted for you. Can I give you a hug?”), we headed back to Fresno just before sunset. On the way, I took a call from an anxious mom with her cat stuck in a tree in Kearney Park. Mom called animal control who told her to call the fire department, and fire referred her to us. It was getting dark, the park was closing, and Mom couldn’t leave without her furry favorite.
“On my way.”
With light almost gone, I met Mom and her family at the base of the massive tree by their picnic table. They brought their pets to the park for outside time (they live in an apartment) when Lulu decided to add drama to the outing by taking advantage of a momentary distraction and scampered up the admittedly awesome cat tower. The bratty feline had been higher in the foliage but was now lying across a branch two stories up staring at me, Mom and the other family cat (secure on a leash) two stories below.
Mom was grateful but nervous as I got inside Lulu’s head.
"Thank you for coming. Is there a cost to rescue her?"
"No. How long has she been up there?"
"About three hours."
"Does she like wet food?”
“Yes.”
“Does she usually eat with her brother?”
“Yes.”
"Hang on.”
I jogged back to my truck and returned with a can of pungent cat food.
After shushing the family, I opened the can of food slowly, making sure that Lulu could savor every sound of the lid peeling open. I scooped out half the can, spread it out on a plate and presented the plate to her brother where Lulu could see him eat. At the sight of her sibling chowing down alone, Lulu howled in jealous protest and paced the branches, looking for a path down the tree.
Mom panicked. “She can’t climb down!”
I laughed, “She’ll find her way down.”
In less than a minute, the can’t possibly climb down from the tree feline scrambled to an “I can jump from here” spot and launched herself down the trunk to Earth and the plate of food. Lulu’s family members cornered the furry delinquent and her relieved mom scooped her up. Mom was BEAMING.
“OMG! Thank you so much! How can we repay you?”
“Can we get a photo?”
174 doors knocked, a half-dozen flags cleared, three rescues, all in district. Who says we can't do both?
