If we all were cats, we wouldn’t be saddled with unpayable emergency rescue charges

This letter concerns the now-infamous cat rescue as reported by Emily Weaver on March 10.

As a former Michigan police officer, retired Indiana deputized park ranger, and former ambulance driver and cat rescuer myself, I wish to thank the North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue crews for being a fellow cat lover. Kudos, and two thumbs (or paws) up.

Why this cat was running loose, and how it got trapped in a storm drain, may speak for itself as how some owners care for their pets. Thankfully all turned out well for the cat.

The reason I am writing this letter is to wonder how much time and cost was involved by the crew of B-battalion and then a crew of “reinforcements from Station #1.” And what about all the equipment used?

Now think of this scenario. Several months ago, an Horry County resident incurred two EMS calls in one month from Horry County Fire Rescue, each call billed at $750 to the Medicare insurance supplement. That resident was left with an unpayable debt of $300 each due to their low-income level.

Was this cat owner billed for the time, manpower and equipment that was used? If not, can the Horry County Fire Rescue chief explain why county residents get hounded for bills they cannot pay? And what makes Horry County think residents should be billed $750 per substandard service?

If cat owners are not billed in North Myrtle Beach, and if we Horry County residents are in future need of EMS service, let’s all crawl into a storm drain, make meow sounds of distress -- and possibly get free and “professional” service from a fire rescue crew who knows what they are doing and how to treat a patient. Enough said from an ex-cop who still rescues cats.

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 6:09 PM with the headline "If we all were cats, we wouldn’t be saddled with unpayable emergency rescue charges."