Dallas firefighters are the first to say that they treat every call seriously. On Wednesday night, with temperatures freezing and ice covering most of North Texas, firefighters risked life and limb to save a family pet.
Tiger, the Aric's family cat, owes one of his nine lives to Dallas firefighters after being rescued from the roof of the family's two-story home.
The Aric's told NBC 5's Randy McIlwain that they couldn't get him down because the roof was too slippery. So the Arics then called the Dallas Fire Department.
"They [the firefighters] were taking it seriously because they knew that we were going to get on the roof if they didn't," said Yvonne Aric.
Firefighters extended a ladder over the Aric's roof to try to reach Tiger. But the closer firefighters got, the further away from the ladder the cat would scoot.
After nearly an hour, the cat was still on the roof and still avoiding his rescuers. But that didn't deter firefighters who continued to try to lure the cat toward their ladder.
"They've got the spotlight on the roof of the house ... neighbors are stopping ... everyone is coming over ... lights everywhere," said Aric.
Finally, apparently tired of the firefighters' presence, Tiger got off of the roof by himself. In the words of the Aric's daughter, Cara, Tiger acted as if nothing had ever happened.
"If they had not come, he would not have come down. He would have been frozen this morning. We would have had a frozen kitty on the roof, I know it," said Aric.
Yvonne added that she was so impressed by the firefighters efforts that they will receive her first batch of Christmas cookies as a way of saying thanks.
NBC 5's Randy McIlwain said that if Tiger gets back on the roof anytime soon, he was told that he may be waiting for Santa to make the rescue.
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