Three Big Hearts, a Bucket Truck, and a Cat Saved

Cats, it turns out, are really good at climbing up poles, but not so good at getting back down.

That’s how Tessa, a 2-year-old Russian Blue, came to be stuck for more than 12 hours shivering atop a 40-foot telephone pole on Staten Island earlier this month.

Mike Dietrich, a construction inspector who rescues animals in his spare time, saw a Facebook post about the trapped cat and thought of a way he could help.

Dietrich called the Davis Avenue control room around midnight and found some friends in high places – literally.

Paul Conti took the call and dispatched troubleshooter Mike Amatrudo who pulled up in a bucket truck 20 minutes later.

Though he is “not a cat guy,” Amatrudo gamely put on heavy gloves and safety goggles and went up with a pet carrier and a can of tuna fish.

“I hoped she would just walk in,” he said, “but she was scared. Eventually I just had to grab on to her and push her in the carrier.”

Safely back on the ground, Tessa, named after the street she was found on, was taken to the vet where she got a clean bill of health, and is now being well cared for by Christopher Mancuso, president of Staten Island Hope Animal Rescue.

“I have the utmost respect for the amount of compassion Con Edison showed for the life of this animal,” Mancuso said. “Con Edison came through in an amazing way.”