RSPCA inspector scales roof to rescue stuffed animal
An RSPCA inspector has scaled a church roof to what he thought was a distressed Great Dane.
Nigel Duguid, 59, was responding to a distressed phone call concerning a dog trapped on the roof of Elim Pentecostal Church in Port Talbot, Wales when he climbed a ladder to save the trapped animal.
However, it turns out the dog was actually a four-foot stuffed animal.
While some people might have been annoyed to have to scale the roof of a building to rescue a toy, Mr Duguid said he was relieved.
“I must admit it was such a relief. I had been preparing myself for what could have been an extremely distressing and difficult job, and then I realised that it wasn’t a dog at all!” he said.
“We get calls to animals of all shapes and sizes and species. But in my 37 years as an RSPCA inspector I have never been called to rescue a cuddly toy.”
The charity says it receives one call every 27 seconds from concerned animal-lovers – and this isn’t the first time a call has turned out to be a false alarm.
Previous cases include a collapsed horse that turned out to be a pile of hay wrapped in twine, and a cat stuck under a wardrobe that turned out to be a pair of slippers.
