Rescuing, Capturing Critters All In A Day's Work For Clearwater Cops

CLEARWATER, FL — Clearwater police can't help but joke about the recent spike in critter captures and rescues that have been keeping them busy over the past several weeks.

The most recent incident occurred Sunday when police were called to the Enterprise Road area to wrangle a gator that roamed a bit too far from its territory, most likely seeking a special "friend" during mating season.

Last week, police were called to capture another gator that made its way into a family's swimming pool and Officer Devin Matheny was summoned to the Boricua Mexican restaurant to capture a boa constrictor that had slithered through the restaurant's security bars.

Police captured another wayward gator May 17 that was camped out under a parked car in the parking lot of a business on U.S. 19. On April 28, police rescued a young owl that was blown out of its nest by strong winds and discovered in the middle of Cleveland Street and, on April 27, they rescued a lost puppy.

Related:

• Wayward Boa Constrictor Deftly Captured By Clearwater Cop: Video
• Seagull Is Free Bird Thanks To Clearwater Firefighters
• Clearwater Fire Crews Take Car Dashboard Apart To Rescue Trapped Cat
• Gator Discovers There's 'No Swimming' For Reptiles In Clearwater Pools

Not to be outdone, the police department's counterparts at the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department were summoned on May 25 to rescue a cat stuck in a tree in the 1000 block of North Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and again on May 23 to assist a seagull that was trapped in electrical wire outside a Clearwater Beach hotel.

The previous week, on May 19, firefighters dismantled the dashboard of a car to rescue a cat that had crawled inside and gotten stuck.

Firefighters were joined by Clearwater lifeguards and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officers to rescue a pelican that was tangled in fishing line and had been snagged by a fishing hook.

Then, on May 5, fire medic Stephanie Nuszkowski, driver-operator Benjamin Dyck and Lt. Tiffany Fry came to the rescue of a kitten that managed to get stuck in the undercarriage of a car. The woman driving the car thought she ran over the kitten but, when she stopped to look, the kitten climbed into the underside of her car. After firefighters rescued the kitten, the woman decided to adopt it, appropriately naming it "Dodge," the make of her car.