With his owner helpless on the floor, Tommy the cat did the sensible thing and called 911.
At least, that's what police in Columbus, Ohio, say is the most plausible explanation for the phantom emergency call that saved Gary Rosheisen from his plight. Rosheisen had fallen out of his wheelchair on Dec. 30, and was unable to get up because of osteoporosis and complications from a stroke.
At about 7 p.m., police received a 911 call from Rosheisens apartment, but no one was on the line. A police officer dispatched to investigate the call entered the room and found the cat lying on the floor next to the telephone.
The officer, Patrick Daugherty, was skeptical when Rosheisen told him that Tommy must have hit the speed-dial button for help, but came to believe it was true in the absence of any other explanation.
I know it sounds kind of weird, Daugherty says.
Police summoned medical emergency personnel to help Rosheisen, who now credits Tommy as a hero.
Rosheisen says that he tried to train Tommy to use 911 when he first obtained the cat three years ago, but was never certain whether or not it worked.
Posted: Jan. 4, 2006, 5 a.m. EST