Edward Pevos
mlive.com
ESCANABA, Mich. — He said he couldn’t bear to see the little furballs separated so he rescued them a second time. This Michigan firefighter just adopted his new fur babies after saving them from a house fire.
Escanaba Public Safety Officer Alex Moscatello found the 6-month old kittens hiding behind a couch. He says they weren’t hurt, but were covered in soot from the smoke-filled house.
“I had been thinking of adopting cats for a while and was waiting until I got a house, but they were sisters and I didn’t want to take a chance of them getting separated,” Officer Moscatello told MLive. “They’re very healthy now and they seem to love living here. I enjoy taking pictures of them.”
No one was hurt in last week’s house fire as the flames were contained to the kitchen. The fire happened at night so just discovering the kittens was unlikely.
“It’s quite a miracle the kittens survived and then he chose to adopt them,” said Susan Gartland, Dir. of the Delta Animal Shelter. “The probability was low of him even finding the kittens in the fire because they typically get spooked by the sirens and the flashing lights and run and hide.”
The kittens were given oxygen support on the scene. If they hadn’t been found by Officer Moscatello, they likely would have died from grooming themselves.
“You have to bathe them right away because if they don’t die of smoke inhalation or burns, they can easily die from the toxicity of grooming the soot off of themselves,” added Gartland.
The kittens were treated by a vet and medically cleared a few days ago. Officer Moscatello took in the kittens after learning the home owner was no longer in a position to care for the kittens. He named them Sophie and Sadie.
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