CONVERSE, Texas — First responders spring into action every day, ready to help those who call in an emergency.
One young girl called a group of firefighters her "special heroes" after saving her four-legged friend.
Eight-year-old Brianna Garcia said she's thankful for her cat Chloe.
Back in February, Chloe went missing and was found stuck in a neighbor’s tree for nearly twenty-four hours.
“My cat was up the tree and I needed some help,” Brianna Garcia said.
It turned out Chloe got up the tree but didn’t know how to get down.
So Brianna decided to do what she’d always been taught to do in an emergency.
“I was calling 9-1-1,” she said.
A team of firefighters from Converse answered the call.
Eli Garcia, a firefighter and paramedic with the Converse Fire Department, said it was around dinnertime when the call came in.
“Dispatch said that the caller was a little girl, about 8 years old, and she had an emergency, so we responded,” Garcia said.
Video from his helmet camera captured little Chloe’s rescue.
“As public servants, it’s our job to respond to any call, whether picking a cat out of a tree or medical or fire emergency,” he said.
Brianna’s stepdad was just as surprised.
“Later when I came from work I found out that my daughter called 911- the fire department,” Edgar Aguirre said.
Garcia said that many people often hear about cat rescues but people are surprised to hear they actually do respond to them.
“A lot of people don’t believe it. It’s like one of those myth stories. They are in disbelief that we actually do that,” Garcia said.
Brianna saved her money for six months so she could thank her heroes.
“We went to the store and we bought some little gifts but, like, I give it to him with all my heart,” she said.
She bought them chocolates, a $25 gift card and presented them with some homemade artwork.
“We were so humbled by it,” Garcia said.
He said she is welcomed to call whenever she needs help.
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