AWLA saves kittens from fire truck! Early this afternoon, a team of Alexandria firefighters had responded to a service call in a fire truck that they had picked up from the mechanic the day before. After the call, as is the procedure, one of the firefighters went to remove the wheel stop and discovered a tiny kitten laying on the ground. The firefighters assumed that someone had abandoned the kitten and brought the hungry baby to us at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. We immediately cared for the singleton and found a foster home for him. Well…that was not the end of the story…

Later this evening, the same firefighters were back at their station and heard a strange noise coming from the garage. They investigated and realized it was coming from deep in the firetruck – kittens crying!

They called AWLA and Animal Control Officer Gudakunst responded. It wasn’t going to be an easy task to get to the kittens – they were hidden deep into the internal space in the truck. They had to disassemble a portion of the truck – including a rear light and several other pieces until they were able to see the dirty, hungry kittens cuddled far below.

ACO Gudakunst was able to then pull each one out to safety. They were screaming and shaking with hungry. He took them back to the AWLA where staff assisted with feeding and comforting them and found a temporary placement for the little ones until they will be reunited with their sibling tomorrow.

So what happened? The firefighters informed ACO Gudakunst that the firetruck had been parked at the mechanics for several weeks when they picked it up yesterday morning. The kittens were approximately 2.5 weeks old at the time. However, there was no way that the kittens could have survived for almost two days without mom. Our best guess is that mom had the kittens in the truck at the repair lot and that she was in the truck with the kittens when they picked up the truck. When they went to the call this afternoon, mom must have attempted to carry the kittens out of the truck and dropped the first one that they found on the ground. The remaining kittens were still inside the truck when they left the call to return to the station and had likely been there for about eight hours without mom. It is incredibly lucky for the babies that they were discovered in time. Great work Alexandria Firefighters!

The kittens are now in foster care and doing really well! Sadly, we have not had any luck finding mom.

What a difference a great photo can make in the future of an animal! We wanted to highlight the awesome work of our photography team volunteers! Our talented group of volunteers come together in small teams and use their animal handling and photography skills to capture gorgeous images of our adoptable animals. These photos are essential for publicizing our animals for adoption and getting them into homes! A special thanks to the Shelter Art Foundation for donating, training, a backdrop and lighting equipment to us. These wonderful photos were taken on Monday by volunteer, Josh Durst of Durst Photography. (10 photos)

If you are interested in helping these kittens and other animals like them, please click Donate and make a donation and make a difference.

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