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 The twist in the story is that the life he saved
was one of a four-legged nature, which was very important to the two
ladies. But in addition to that, he helped Cummings restore the
peace and calm in her home, buy rescuing a wayward kitten that had
somehow made its way into the house, but not in the usual way.
The issue began on Easter Sunday, April 17, in the Cummings home.
She explained that she was getting ready for Easter and planning to
leave the house. As she was doing so, she heard a sound that she
couldn’t quite identify. She listened for a while, but ultimately
hoped that the sound would go away by the time she returned home. It
did not.
By Monday morning the sound was becoming at the very least annoying
to Mrs. Cummings but also very concerning. She had identified that
the sound she was hearing was the mewing of a kitten and it sounded
like the kitten was in her house. Cummings doesn’t have a cat, so
she was alarmed to hear one in her home, and she reached out to her
friend and neighbor Judy Hail to come over and help her find the
wayward animal and relocate it to some other place.
Hail, who is a volunteer at the Humane Society of Logan County, came
to the home and she and Cummings began searching for the kitten. At
first they thought it was in the basement. Cummings said there is a
half-wall and a crawlspace in the basement and they were hopeful
that somehow the kitten had gotten into that crawl space.
Cummings put food in the area, hoping to attract the kitten, but
nothing happened.
The mewing went on for several days, and Cummings was becoming
increasingly concerned. With the help of Hail, she began looking to
find someone who could help her find the kitten and get it out of
the basement. In the meantime, it appeared that the kitten was
moving around, for the sound was moving and at times sounded like it
was in the ceiling in her bathroom.
Hail said that she knew that the Humane Society didn’t have any kind
of rescue plan when it came to animals stuck in walls. She asked
some questions and learned that the best option might be to hire
someone to trap the animal.
The problem with that was there was no one locally who would do a
humane capture. The ladies didn’t want the kitten hurt, they just
wanted it out of the house.
In desperation, Cummings on Wednesday went to the Logan County
Animal Control, hoping they would be able to do something to help.
Like the Humane Society, Animal Control has no plan for extricating
animals out of walls.
But, while Cummings was there, so was Lincoln K-9 Officer Ryan
Sullivan. Visiting Animal Control on another matter, he heard the
conversation between Cummings and the staff and saw that the lady
was agitated and desperate to find someone to help her.
As she was getting ready to leave the animal control office,
Sullivan stepped in, telling her who he was, he said that he would
be happy to follow her home and see if there was anything he could
do to help out. Cummings welcomed the help and off the two went back
to the Cummings home.
Officer Sullivan was able to follow the mewing and finally announced
to Cummings that he had located the kitten. It was in a wall in her
home, between the finished drywall of the room and the outside wall
of the structure.
He told Cummings he believed he could get to the kitten, but
unfortunately he would have to tear a hole in her drywall. He asked
her if she wanted him to continue. I just said “do it,” and Officer
Sullivan went to work. It took more than an hour to get to the
kitten and pull it out of the wall.
Cummings said the little thing did not appear to be hurt, but is was
starving. She fixed it a bowl of food, and she said the kitten
shoved its entire face in it, trying to eat it all at once.
Hail said that the first thing to do from the Humane Society
perspective was to have the animal examined by a veterinarian. The
doctor said that the kitten was, obviously in need of food. She
estimated the animal to be only a few weeks old, and said that the
best chance for survival would be for the little animal to have
constant care with a feeding regimen every two hours.
The kitten was placed in the HSLC foster care program and is now
getting the care and attention it needs in order to grow up healthy
and strong.
[to top of second column] |
 For Cummings and Hail, Officer Ryan Sullivan went
far above and beyond the call of duty to help save the kitten and
also restore harmony to the Cummings home.
Speaking with Lincoln Police Chief Matt Vlahovich about the
situation, he said that he was pleased that Sullivan was able to
help the ladies.
Though it is not the type of call the Lincoln police regularly
respond to, Vlahovich said that it is in the line of duty for city
officers. He said that the department considers it to be “good
customer service” to help out residents with unique situations such
as this.
He noted that Cummings was upset and concerned and Sullivan could
see that she had exhausted her options on trying to get help. For
Vlahovich the concern was not only helping the kitten but helping
the resident and he’s quite pleased that the city was able to assist
with both.
Cummings and Hail were both impressed with the city police officer
and wanted the community to know that the police are there for them,
even in the strangest of situations. They also wanted to publicly
thank Sullivan for his efforts and dub him as their personal hero.
LDN was touched by this story because we are living in a society
that often tries to criminalize our police officers. It feels good
to show that our local officers are folks with heart who care about
not only our two-legged citizens but our four-legged ones as well.
Thank you K-9 Officer Sullivan for being a caring part of our
community.
An update on May 24th: Other kittens from the same litter
were found in healthier condition in a nearby crawlspace and
rescued. Through the diligent care of its foster mom, Mary Moore,
the rescued kitten is now thriving. Oh, and its name... what else,
they call it 'Sullivan.'
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