Brad Slater, a train conductor for the Canadian National Railway Company, is celebrated as a hero by one grateful family after a remarkable rescue. His day began like any other…
On a frigid morning in Wainwright, Alberta, with temperatures plummeting to -39°C, Brad and train engineer William Munsey prepared to take their train from Wainwright to Edmonton. As they waited for departure, Brad decided to inspect the train with his flashlight, given the extreme cold. During his check, he heard a sound that would stay with him forever. Alarmed, he quickly alerted Munsey, fearing the worst.
“I thought the previous crew had run over somebody or he found an arm or leg or something. I’ve heard that voice before, and it’s not very good,” Brad recounted. The cries deeply disturbed him.
To their astonishment, they discovered a shivering tabby cat beneath the second engine, still alive! Brad recalled, “All I heard was the angriest, saddest cat cry.” They swiftly rescued the cat, wrapping it in a t-shirt to warm it up and offering water and jerky. The little cat had a missing tooth, a damaged right ear, and frostbitten paws, suffering from the harsh weather.
Being a cat owner, Brad kept the tabby with him on the train, aiding its recovery. “Within five hours it was curled up on my lap. He was pushing his face against my arm. It’s almost as if he knew how close he had been to dying and knew exactly which human had saved it,” Brad shared.
Brad named the cat Q199, or “Q” for short, after the train. He took Q home to join his three other cats and promptly took it to the vet the next morning. Recognizing that Q wasn’t a stray, Brad turned to social media to find its owners.
In an unexpected turn, a couple from Saskatchewan responded with photos of a cat named “Tiger,” matching Q’s description. Coincidentally, the couple were retired Canadian Railway workers who had previously rescued Tiger. Though Brad had grown attached to Q, he knew he had to return the cat to its rightful owners.
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Reflecting on the incident, Brad believed anyone else would have done the same to save the poor cat, which had endured the cold with snow frozen on its tail and mud covering its body. He hoped that if one of his pets ever went missing, someone would similarly rescue, care for, and return his beloved animal.
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