I was in distress. I woke up at 6AM and discovered one of my cats was missing and the heating vent cover had been moved aside. I called down to him and a faint mewing confirmed that my cat had indeed fallen down the heating vent.
To top it off I went through my back door to get into the crawlspace under the house, closed the door behind me while still in my jammies, and effectively locked myself out.
A friend and I walked to the Fire Station a couple blocks away and got the phone number for Southwest Plumbing from the Dex phone book. We gave Southwest Plumbing a call and a woman named Theresa answered the call, realized our distress over our cat, and had someone dispatched within the hour.
Evan Pauls and his assistant arrived within the hour and got the specifics of the situation. They then went immediately to work. They were very prompt and professional -- my friend even commented on feeling bad about sending them down into the dirty basement since their uniforms were so clean!
Evan Pauls and assistant looked at the heating unit, opened some panels, and found my cat sitting in the return vent. They put it all back together for me, changed the filter, fixed the other vent we had opened before calling them, and saved my cat! I am ever, ever, ever, EVER so grateful to Evan Pauls and his assistant, as well as Southwest Plumbing!
Evan Pauls and his assistant were so knowledgeable, polite, punctual, and just immensely awesome.
At the end I turned to ask about the bill and Evan shrugged and told me not to worry about it. Later Theresa, who took our initial call, called us back to check and see if we had been able to get the cat out of the heater.
I am very grateful for the good fortune of such a professional and thoughtful crew - including the professional crew dispatched to my residence and the woman on the phone - all of whom made a truly chaotic and stressful experience much more personal. I am truly relieved the crew was able to get him out and that he is doing okay.
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