Posted on 12/06/2012 9:02:58 AM PST by EinNYC
A 53-year-old Bronx man fell to his death trying to rescue a cat from a tree early Monday, police sources said.
Marcial Rios-Aguilar scaled the tree at Bronx Park East and Allerton Ave. in Bronxwood at 3 a.m. using a rope, police said.
The branch gave way and Rios-Aguilar died. The feline remained stranded in the tree.
"He loves animals. He was a nice man,” said Manuel Cabrera, 36, whose wife is Rios-Aguilar’s cousin. “He helps people all the time."
Six relatives and friends gathered at the tree with flowers and candles to make a makeshift memorial. The rope Rios-Aguilar used still dangled overhead, near the spooked tabby.
They prayed, cried and described the unemployed Rios-Aguilar as a kindhearted, generous man who kept pet turtles and birds, and was known to buy food for stray cats.
“He was very caring towards our kids," said Lourdes Castro, 34, Cabrera’s wife.
Rios-Aguilar, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico 20 years ago, often would go out late rooting around for recyclables.
“We are not sure why he was there — he likes to go out to collect metal from the garbage,” Cabrera said. “Whatever money he gets he sends to his mother in Mexico. He spoke to her just yesterday."
The super of Cabrera’s buildng, accompanied by two police detectives, broke the awful news to him early this morning.
“I was in shock. I couldn't say anything,” Cabrera said. “We were like brothers."
Rios-Aguilar’s family will send his body back to Mexico.
Around 12:30 p.m. Monday, the Fire Department arrived to rescue the kitty. [and took it to NYC Animal Care & Control]
When the tabby is saved, he or she can’t expect a hero’s welcome. When asked if she would adopt the cat should it come down for the tree, Castro gave an emphatic “No!”
CAN ANYONE ADOPT THIS LITTLE GUY? I AM FULL UP ON MY ALLOWED NUMBER OF CATS. Please don't let this kind-hearted man have died for nothing.
I have never seen a cat able to get up a tree, that has been unable to get down.
At 3am. Was he drunk?
I'm more worried about 3,300 Americans being slaughtered in abortuaries EACH AND EVERY DAY than a cat. Sorry!
And I have never seen a skeleton of a cat in a tree either.
Be that as it may, the cat will very shortly be killed at the NYC ACC if someone doesn’t go and rescue it. As I’ve said, I am up to my limit in cats for my home and can’t.
Kibbles and patience.
at 3 a.m ???
That is kind of early or late to be climbing a tree to rescue a cat.
What a man will do for a little pussy cat.
If the cat had been a conservative, the news would read, “Conservative cat in tree lures man to his death!”
Yet you wasted valuable worry time posting on this thread. No one is trying to equate the two except for you. Sorry!
Exactly. I am trying to save the life of this little cat to give meaning to the man’s death and also, of course, to save the poor little cat. Yet this jerk would use this particular thread to drag in HIS beloved cause, distracting from what I’m trying to do here. Why don’t you post your thread on an abortion-related post, you idiot?
Others can walk and chew gum at the same time.
Another thing you have never seen is a cat skeleton up a tree. If it fell it would land on it’s feet.
And NOBODY tried to help the man who died after being pushed onto the subway rails.....
But writers were quick to defend inaction in that case....
New candidate for the Darwin award.
I bet the dam cat was an illegal mexican short hair doing the mousing the american cats don’t want to do We need toseal our borders and start deporting them post haste
A dog would not have created this problem in the first place.
Are you up to your limit in adopted children for your home and can’t?
A cat doesn’t get stuck in a tree. A cat climes a tree to get away from something it is threatened by.
The reason the cat won’t come out of the tree is because you are standing at the base hollering at it. He is trying to stay away from YOU!
If you just go home, the cat will come out of the tree when he is damn ready to.
If the cat sees someone that he actually wants to greet, then he will be one the ground before you can scratch the hair of his chinny chin chin.
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