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West Islip woman saves her cat that was stuck in sewer

Jessica Li says she knew something was wrong when her cat Petey, who always sleeps with her, wasn't in bed.

News 12 Staff

Jan 11, 2023, 3:41 AM

Updated 675 days ago

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A West Islip woman is finally reunited with her cat who was stuck in a sewer.
Jessica Li says she knew something was wrong when her cat Petey, who always sleeps with her, wasn't in bed.
Fortunately, Petey is equipped with an AirTag in case he ever went missing.
Li finally got a ping from the tag on the middle of Sunrise Highway.
"So, at that point I went into panic mode, and I basically said to everybody, 'Petey's missing,'" Li said.
After calls for help from social media and other outlets fell through, Li reached out to a professional pet tracker named Kelly Brach.
Brach and her dog Sonya began a search and they soon realized Petey was underneath Sunrise Highway in the sewer.
"I took my phone and kind of hovered it over each of the drains, we were taking a flashlight looking in, it was dark and that's when it happened, my phone said, 'He's with you,'" Li said.
Li then got someone from Roto-Rooter to lift the grate in the sewer. Then Li's brother-in-law went into the sewer, noticed Petey and relayed that he was alive.
"Obviously, the breath of relief, then he's like, 'Well, I'm not going any further because he doesn't know me, he's gonna scratch me out,' and I said, 'Get on out, I'm going in,'" Li said.
The frantic pet owner finally reached her beloved feline friend who was stuck in a part of the sewer with water in front of it, which is why the Petey never moved from that spot.
Li says without thinking she lunged into the water, grabbed Petey and began her way out.
Petey was unscathed after the incident.