How far would you go to save your cat?

Buttons a cat who fell down a well
Buttons a cat who fell down a well
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

How far would you go to save your cat? This is about a man who fell down a 40-50 foot well trying to rescue his sister’s cat. I wanted to share this story with the readers here because it shows just how devoted people in my area are to their cats. This happened on January 29 in upstate South Carolina, USA, about an hour from my home.

Joey Dover, an animal lover, gave his sister a female, grey and white cat eight years ago, whom the sister named Buttons. On Wednesday, Joey attempted to climb down a well at his sister’s home in Gaffney shortly before 8 p.m. to rescue Buttons. The well was underneath the house (the bathroom in fact). Buttons, had been missing for several days, and from what I gathered Joey was under the house trying to get to the cat when things went wrong.

Joey, a cat lover who tried to rescue Buttons
Joey, a cat lover who tried to rescue Buttons

I’ve heard conflicting reports on whether Buttons was ever in the well. One news station reported he was and another said the cat wasn’t in the well. I lean toward believing Buttons had fallen in, and Joey heard meowing and decided to attempt a rescue.

Apparently, Joey had lowered himself into the well by tying a rope around the bumper of his truck. As mentioned, things didn’t go as planned, and Joey ended up falling fully down the well, all 50 feet of it.

“The cat was missing for seven days then my daughter could hear him hollering underneath the house and we knew there was a well under there,” Barbara Dover, Joey’s mom.

The Gaffney Fire Department, EMS and other volunteers had to rescue Joey from the well.  Two men went down to rescue him. He spent two hours down the well, and was rescued around 10 p.m..

Joey fell down this well under the house
Joey fell down this well under the house

Keep in mind the outdoor temperature was around 20 F. degrees. One day earlier Spartanburg County experienced the worst ice storm in perhaps 30 years. Yet Joey was determined to save Buttons.

Under this house was the well that Buttons fell down
Under this house was the well that Buttons fell down

Joey was rescued and taken to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center and was released after the doctor’s decided he’d suffered no serious injuries. Joey’s mother told the local news media her son is “sore and resting.” This isn’t the first time one of their cats has ended up down a well.

The family reported several years ago a cat fell into the well. The cat was rescued by lowering down a bucket with food. That cat climbed in the bucket and was rescued. Our cat “Spot” spent two days down a well back in the 1980’s. He’d gone missing for two days and we finally heard him meowing from down the neighbors well. Another neighbor got a ladder and climbed down to rescue him.

Spot had an immediate vet visit, since he’d been standing in several inches of water. He had pneumonia and was put on medication. I hope Buttons had a vet visit to make sure there were no serious issues to deal with.

Joey, in my eyes you’re a hero. Even if things didn’t go quite the way you planned. Readers, would you risk your life to save a cat? Have you ever done anything totally off-the-wall for the sake of your feline companion? Please leave a comment.

Elisa

Sources: (a) wyff4.com (b) foxcarolina.com

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83 thoughts on “How far would you go to save your cat?”

  1. I would go as far as possible, as our cats mean alot to us esp if something horrible was happening. They our babies, no money would be any worry.

    Reply
  2. I stick with Mr. Boston Rock n Rye. Whiskey with lemon straight no chaser. Works better for a cough for me because commercial cough syrups run my blood pressure up with the dangerous chemicals.

    Reply

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