Photo Provided A LaRoche Tree Service worker cradles a cat that the company helped the Belmont County Animal Shelter rescue from a tree as a winter storm approached.

BELLAIRE — A cat getting stuck in a tree may sound like a minor problem, but this past week’s extremely cold weather and reaching an exceptionally dangerous height could have spelled tragedy for a local family pet.

In this case, Belmont County Dog Warden Lisa Duvall thanked LaRoche Tree Service for lending a hand as well as a ladder to retrieve the animal. She said when the call to retrieve the cat came in, she found that the tree was 30-40 feet high and the cat well out of reach.

“We’ve done this before. Cats climb trees, and LaRoche just went down there and they were ever so helpful,” Duvall said.

Jed LaRoche, an employee at the business, released a statement about the situation.

“Here at LaRoche Tree Service we’re always looking to try to do whatever good we can in the community. We’re all animal lovers,” he said. “When the Belmont County shelter stopped in (Wednesday), we made phone calls to try to get somebody out as soon as we can, and we were just happy to help.”

Duvall said the help was appreciated.

“It was really nice of LaRoche,” she said, adding that there were no workers immediately available to make the climb, so owner CJ. LaRoche and two others helped.

Duvall speculated that a coyote or dog might have chased the cat up the tree.

“Usually a cat can come back down a tree. If they get up, they can come down. But she was young and it was windy and cold,” Duvall said. “She slid and she hurried up and ran back up there.”

Duvall said the rescue was a rewarding scene and the cat was happy to see LaRoche’s face.

“She practically just clung onto him,” Duvall said.

She recalled the reunion between the cat and its owners.

“If you had seen that little girl’s face, that was the best part of my day (Wednesday). That little girl’s 7-month-old cat was safe back in her arms,” Duvall said. “The cat’s doing very well. … There hasn’t been any signs of frostbite.”

Duvall said the shelter is grateful to the people and businesses that step up to help. She recalled another incident in which an Australian shepherd was running loose earlier this month. She said businesses with cameras at their sites would observe the dog’s pattern of travel and call the animal shelter.

“A lot of the area businesses are always helpful in whatever way they can be,” she said, adding that Revival Salon and Spa in St. Clairsville is starting a fundraiser for the dog’s medical bills.

“Just because it was on their property down there at the salon and they were keeping an eye on it too,” she said.

Duvall said the weather was cold at that time as well. She said her staff and others had tried to catch the dog for days.

“Nobody’s come forward for the Aussie,” she said, adding that the dog likely was abandoned on U.S. 40 near Country Club Road west of St. Clairsville. “When somebody called and it was staying up in the woods, we figured it was dumped.”

She said the dog was in continuous danger of being struck by a car.

The cold weather this past week has proven an additional hazard for stray and abandoned animals, a problem that Duvall said is persisting for an animal shelter that is already full.

“We’ve been very busy. Our dog staff will walk (dogs) when another person cleans their area. They don’t stay out,” she said.

“A lot of the calls that we’re getting are either stray dogs or dogs that people are dumping and cats. We’ve been trying to respond very quickly so that nobody is freezing to death,” she said, recalling one dog found recently in Martins Ferry. “You can tell he was exhausted from being out in the cold. He was curled up in my truck and didn’t want to get out.

“It’s hard on these animals to be out in the cold, especially when they’re probably not used to it,” she said. “To dump a dog or any animal, especially when it’s cold like that with the potential to freeze or starve to death, I can’t fathom that.”

Duvall said the shelter is at capacity with close to 80 dogs. She said they are not being left outside, and the shelter staff is making a concerted effort to find homes for current residents and make more room.

“We are totally full. I have some dogs in boarding. We’ve got a litter of puppies — somebody couldn’t take care of them,” she said. “We’re getting dogs and cats in daily, especially with the cold. People can’t take care of them, people are getting evicted. … It’s really hit us hard in the past month, the amount of animals.”

She said shelter staff members are working with the sheriff’s department and other agencies in the county to assist in these situations.

“The businesses are stepping up, too,” she said.

Duvall said a new animal shelter building is needed to alleviate these issues. The Belmont County Board of Commissioners is exploring options for a new facility.

Anyone wishing to help can call the shelter at 740-695-4708. It is located at 45244 National Road West, St. Clairsville. Duvall said the shelter is in need of dry dog food and newspapers.