As you flip through Friday’s edition of The Post, you might notice a few furry friends popping up on the first few pages. It’s been that kind of a week.

Specifically on today’s front page, there’s a story about Vicksburg firefighters actually saving a cat from a tree. And as the headline states: Yep. They really do that. 

I know we all grew up seeing firefighters saving cats from trees on children’s shows and in books. But Wednesday, that scenario was for real as the Vicksburg Fire Department was one couple’s only real shot at getting the family cat out of a precarious situation. I’ll let you read the story, but it was a situation I thought would make for “cute photos.” I said that out loud when Fire Chief Derrick Stamps called to tell me what was going on. But, it wasn’t cute at all. The poor cat had been in the tree for nearly 24 hours, had endured a whole night perched in the branches and then must’ve had to hang on for dear life during Wednesday’s high winds. That is, of course, until local firefighters saved him from this situation.

Even while being rescued, it was obvious Thunder the cat was still terrified. VFD Lt. Nathaniel Nichols did a great job of keeping the cat from falling in an attempt to escape a stranger he didn’t understand was trying to help. Nichols even lost his helmet in the process, and the loud bang it made when it hit the concrete was a testament to how far Thunder would’ve fallen had the firefighters not been patient and gentle enough to get him loose and wrapped in a fire jacket. All of this while a crowd of us watched and I snapped pictures, on top of it all. Good job, VFD! You made one kitty and its family very happy this week.

Speaking of making families happy, if you take a look at page three of this edition, you’ll also notice our Pet of the Week is from a local family looking to find a forever home for a foster puppy. I happen to have some inside knowledge of this one, having met this particular puppy (who is actually three years old, we think). He’s just the sweetest guy and is going to make a great companion for someone. Believe me, if I had the room at my house, I’d happily take him home.

Which leads me to my last pet update, for those of you following along. The reason I don’t have room at my house for our Pet of the Week has a name. He’s also small, black with floppy ears and a perpetual case of the zoomies. My dog Barkley is around four months old now. I adopted him after doing a story at the new Vicksburg Animal Shelter in late January and, while I’m sure he’d love some company while I’m at work, he’s keeping me busy all by himself. I have plenty of stories of just how he’s managing that, and I’m sure I’ll get around to some of them right here. But, in the meantime, I’ll say this: For all of you parents of older children (I’m one, too) who get annoyed by people comparing animals to small children, go adopt a new pet and I promise you’ll be reminded of chasing your little humans around when they were younger. There are a lot of similarities, I’m finding out. In fact, if you stand outside my house long enough, you’ll inevitably hear me yell both of my kids’ names before finally getting around to yelling “Barkley!” in a likely futile attempt to get him to stop doing,…whatever it is he’s doing at that moment. 

But, whether it’s trying to find them the perfect home, rescuing them from a situation of their own making or just desperately trying to get them to stop biting your toes when you change socks (why, Barkley?), they’re a lot of comfort and company. It’s worth it.

Blake Bell is the general manager and executive editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at blake.bell@vicksburgpost.com.