When the last tiny kitten was scooped out of the hole, a man determined to save its life cried with relief, cradling it in his hands.
Workers from Roto-Rooter on Wednesday rescued the kitten from a sewer in South Park, two days after Ron "Griz" Swidorski, 59, of Finleyville pulled the cat's littermates to safety.
"You don't know what you put me through, guy!" Swidorski said, placing the kitten inside his shirt. "Come on, we're going home."
A family living on Riggs Road called Roto-Rooter in Murrysville after Swidorski tried tirelessly to reach the third kitten. Swidorski's wife, Liz, noticed a dead cat Monday along the road and heard cries coming from the sewer.
"Ron wouldn't have left the kittens alone, and neither would I," she said.
The Roto-Rooter workers placed a motorized camera inside the sewer to "chase" the remaining kitten out a pipe that went beneath houses and backyards. Before they could do so, they had to determine which pipe the kitten was huddled inside and gain access to it, said Giovanni Gulli, 35, a manager at Roto-Rooter.
"It was hot, it was rewarding, and we got the cat out of the bag," said Neil Stewart of Roto-Rooter, who did the job for free.
Swidorski, twice a survivor of lightning strikes who said he has endured "a lot of trauma," downplayed his good deed.
"I'm used to this; I'm a tough guy," he said. "I wasn't about to let anything stop me from getting in there."
He saved the first two kittens with a fishing rod by waiting at the sewer grate until they popped into sight. When the third was brought up, only one thing remained for him to do.
"What's the cat's name?" a Roto-Rooter worker asked.
"How about Lucky?" Swidorski said. "Lucky's a good name."
Workers from Roto-Rooter on Wednesday rescued the kitten from a sewer in South Park, two days after Ron "Griz" Swidorski, 59, of Finleyville pulled the cat's littermates to safety.
"You don't know what you put me through, guy!" Swidorski said, placing the kitten inside his shirt. "Come on, we're going home."
A family living on Riggs Road called Roto-Rooter in Murrysville after Swidorski tried tirelessly to reach the third kitten. Swidorski's wife, Liz, noticed a dead cat Monday along the road and heard cries coming from the sewer.
"Ron wouldn't have left the kittens alone, and neither would I," she said.
The Roto-Rooter workers placed a motorized camera inside the sewer to "chase" the remaining kitten out a pipe that went beneath houses and backyards. Before they could do so, they had to determine which pipe the kitten was huddled inside and gain access to it, said Giovanni Gulli, 35, a manager at Roto-Rooter.
"It was hot, it was rewarding, and we got the cat out of the bag," said Neil Stewart of Roto-Rooter, who did the job for free.
Swidorski, twice a survivor of lightning strikes who said he has endured "a lot of trauma," downplayed his good deed.
"I'm used to this; I'm a tough guy," he said. "I wasn't about to let anything stop me from getting in there."
He saved the first two kittens with a fishing rod by waiting at the sewer grate until they popped into sight. When the third was brought up, only one thing remained for him to do.
"What's the cat's name?" a Roto-Rooter worker asked.
"How about Lucky?" Swidorski said. "Lucky's a good name."