Fisherman Reels In His Catch, Then Spots The Odd Creature In His Net
One of the first things you learn as a fisherman is to expect the unexpected. On a hot day in July, fishermen learned this lesson firsthand when a routine fishing excursion quickly took a shocking turn. What they reeled in from the waves wasn’t an abnormally-large catch or rare sea creature. In fact, they had no idea how the poor little guy got into the water in the first place...
A Normal Day...
When the crew of Still Flyin Charters in Orange Beach, Alabama, set out on a routine excursion out of Perdido Pass, they were expecting it to be a normal day...or as normal as it gets while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. They’d seen some once-in-a-lifetime sights there before.
Weird Sights & Sounds
When you’re fishing in the Gulf, you come across all kinds of marine life you probably wouldn’t see on an average beach day: dolphins, snapper fish, even some whales and manatees. It’s not just a place of weird sights, but of weird sounds, too.
Something Was Different
Fishermen like those with Still Flyin Charters are used to the sound of the waves hitting the side of the boat, the wind whistling through their ears, and a fishing line getting pulled by something hungry beneath the waves. But on that day in July 2020, something was different.
Hearing Something Strange
Since they ran a charter boat, the sounds of people oohing and aahing over their catches is all part of a normal day. A fisherman gets used to the ordinary sounds of a fishing excursion, so when a foreign sound reached their ears, they immediately knew something was wrong.
Man Overboard?
Steve Crews, the captain and owner of Still Flyin Charters, quickly looked over the side of the boat at the waves below. The guests on the boat heard the sound, too: a soft wailing noise, like someone or something struggling in the water.
Not A Fish
The wailing noise was coming from a tiny, furry creature struggling against the waves. Without skipping a beat, Crews and his fellow fishermen grabbed their nets and started to do what they do best: fish. But what they pulled out of the water didn’t have gills.
Finally Recognizing It
It had a skinny body, two floppy ears, and its eyes screwed up tightly against the current. “He was struggling to stay up,” Still Flyin Charters explained of the creature on their Facebook page. It wasn’t until they finally pulled the little guy out of the waves that they recognized it.
Would He Survive?
It was a tiny orange kitten. “Our catch of the day,” Still Flyin Charters wrote on Facebook. Looking at the poor kitten, it was clear that he had been through quite the ordeal. Just because he was finally safe on the boat didn’t mean he was going to survive...
Filled With Questions
And looking at this photo, the poor guy definitely looked worse for wear when he was rescued! Thankfully, the crew knew exactly what to do. “We caught him, brought him in the boat, and let him recover.” Still, everyone had plenty of questions.
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How Did This Happen?
When Still Flyin Charters posted the story onto their Facebook page, they were bombarded with questions: How did this happen? Did the cat fall in from another boat? Was the cat being used as shark bait? Or was it something even more sinister?
Potential Animal Cruelty
“No one uses kittens for shark bait,” Still Flyin Charters was quick to point out. “I used to commercial shark fish for a living. Never heard of anyone doing that.” Many people were alarmed by the possibility that the cat didn’t end up in the water by accident.
What Really Happened
”I want to assume it was an accident, but there are a lot of mean people when it comes to animals, so you just don’t know,” one person commented on Facebook. As the fishing experts, Still Flyin Charters have their own theory about how it happened.
Curiosity...
They think he was simply “sucked out by the tide.” Curiosity has been known to kill the cat in the past, after all! At least the little guy was scooped up before any real damage was done...that the crew knew of, that is. For a while, the kitten was still fighting to recover.
Forever Feral?
According to Still Flyin Charters, the cat was a little jumpy from the whole experience. “He’s hanging around the house because he’s terrified inside,” the Charter company wrote on Facebook. They had doubts that he would ever be able to coexist with people…
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Full Recovery
That is, until he was adopted! As it turns out, the feral cat just needed some time and love in order to recover and find a forever home. Still, this story wasn’t over yet. A few days later, Still Flyin Charters got a letter in the mail.
Letter From PETA
The letter was from PETA, and they had some choice words for Still Flyin Charters. They thanked the crew for saving the cat and for being “kind citizens” before reminding the fishermen that “fish are living beings capable of feeling pain...just as cats are.”
Making Jokes
Still Flyin Charters didn’t let the criticism about their occupation get them down. What wasn’t controversial about the whole story was how they were able to save a cat from drowning, after all. Of course, the seriousness of the story didn’t stop people from making jokes.
One Of Their Weirdest Catches
“That’s the strangest looking catfish I have ever seen,” someone commented on Facebook about the waterlogged cat. The cat probably is one of Still Flyin Charters' weirdest catches! “Can’t say you see that every day,” they admitted on Facebook.
What's His Name?
People have even offered up their own name ideas for the little seafarer: “Nemo,” “Shark Bait”, “Jonah”, and “Gilligan” are popular choices, among others. But the one the name that was finally settled on is perhaps the most clever.
Lucky Cat
“Lucky” — maybe the most fitting name of all! It was definitely a rare stroke of luck that Still Flyin Charters happened to find the little kitten when they did. Even people who have dedicated their lives to saving animals, like Dave Wright, have come across shocking and highly dangerous situations.
Hike Gone Wrong
Dave's heart sank when he was told what had happened in October 2019. It was a normal day in Twin Falls County, Idaho, when a group of locals strolling through Snake River Canyon spotted something high up on a cliff that caused them to stop in their tracks.
Distant Silhouette
There was a curious white blur, at first too distant to make out distinctly. When the onlookers approached further, they couldn't believe what they had discovered. There was an animal trapped on the rugged terrain!
Hard Spot to Reach
Surveying the rock face, the locals figured there was no way the animal could've climbed up the cliff by itself. They concluded that it must have survived a steep fall from the top of the mountain. It was a miracle it was still alive.
Full Of Danger
The men knew they had to help, but the task at hand looked daunting. The cliff was not only high and steep, but it was also full of loose rocks and crumbling dirt that could prove dangerous even for seasoned climbers.
Looking For Help
They called a few animal rescue organizations, begging each to come and save the animal in peril; after all, so many rescuers weren't afraid to brave much worse than a steep cliff face. But the responses they received shocked them.
Turning Away
Unbelievably, the team of good Samaritans received rejection after rejection from the groups they called. Apparently, the mission to save the animal stuck on the cliff was simply too risky to attempt!
Stepping Forward
Finally, they found one special organization that was willing to navigate the tough terrain: The volunteer nonprofit Friends Furever Animal Rescue had professionals it could deploy to complete the risky venture.
Dave And Richard
Richard Jensen, an ace rock climber, and Dave Wright, an expert researcher and founder of Friends Furever Animal Rescue, were the men for the job. There couldn't have been a better pair for the mission. But they would need every ounce of their talent to make it up the cliff face.
Droning On
In order to figure out the exact escape route they needed to take, the men employed a special drone to survey the area. Once that was done, they prepared to make their ascent to the mystery animal.
Up And Away
Dave and Richard slowly began to climb the cliff, making sure to take all the right steps so as not to fall. Finally, it became clear who they were trying to rescue — a big, fluffy, white dog.
Here Comes The Cavalry
Before beginning the precarious job of bringing the dog back down, the two sat with him for a while to make sure he was comfortable. They also fed him water and pieces of an energy bar. Soon, it was time to descend.
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Back And Forth
On their way down, the two men had to pass the pup back and forth frequently in order to ensure his safety — talk about a high-stakes game of catch! Needless to say, getting down was a lot more difficult than the journey up had been.
Back To The Bottom
Dave and Richard breathed a sigh of relief as they reached the bottom of the mountain with the dog safely in tow. However, there was still more to be done...
Poor Clifford
The dog, whom they fittingly named Clifford, had been stuck on the cliff for at least five days. He was in poor shape — malnourished as well as covered in fleas and dirt.
Medical Attention
Luckily, Windswept Kennels was generous enough to take him in. They gave him a full-body cleaning and even got rid of all his nasty fleas. He still needed medical attention, though.
Vet's Diagnosis
After the kennel, Clifford was sent to a vet who examined him and came to some sad conclusions. Poor Cliff was all "banged up" and covered in infected sores. His time on the mountain had truly been hard on the dog. However, treatment wasn't free...
Expensive Recovery
Furever Friends reached out to the public, asking for donations to help take care of Clifford. They needed assistance in financing his vet bills and other costs. Thankfully, people were happy to help.
Helping Out
Since no one had claimed Clifford, he still needed a new home and a caring family to live with. The organization made it be known that the incredibly resilient dog was up for adoption. And in just a few months, he had moved in with a new family, and was running around playing with a friend in his fresh, green, mountainless yard!
Helping Out
Since no one had claimed Clifford, he still needed a new home and a caring family to live with. The organization made it be known that the incredibly resilient dog was up for adoption. And in just a few months, he had moved in with a new family, and was running around playing with a friend in his fresh, green, mountainless yard!
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