Phoenix man rescues kittens trapped inside sewer in Maryvale

Phoenix man rescues kittens trapped inside Maryvale sewer

The kittens were found by two women who were out trapping cats in the Phoenix neighborhood, as the community has a big problem with it. Soon enough, they came across the distressed kittens, and a plan was hatched to rescue them. FOX 10's Stephanie Olmo reports.

PHOENIX - Several kittens are doing well, after they were rescued from inside a sewer in the Maryvale area of Phoenix earlier in the week.

On April 8, we spoke with the person who rescued the kitten about how he was able to pull it off.

-Rescue happened on April 6-

Erin Maguire and her friend, Linda, were trapping cats in the Maryvale area, a big problem in the community, when they heard kittens in a sewer crying for help near 51st Avenue and Indian School Road

"When I heard these kittens, I said 'honestly, I don’t care if we get another 10 or 20 cats tonight. We have to get these kittens, and I'm not leaving until we have them,'" said Maguire.

The women searched around for help, but couldn't find anyone. They finally thought of their friend, Matt Gonzales.

Gonzales, very much like Erin and Linda, loves animals, and quickly came to the rescue.

"As he opened that storm drain cover, the smell of decay and the visual of fur at the bottom of the sewer, it was a little overwhelming, but he didn’t hesitate," said Erin.

Gonzales came with tools, including toe straps.

"I expected them in the grate, lift the metal up and just grab them, and it wasn’t," said Gonzales. "As where we heard them from, and well, if they were a little further in, you think we can get through the manhole, opened that and jump down into it, and then they sounded even further away."

Gonzales ended up crawling through a long tunnel with straps around his ankles, while Maguire and her friend were above ground, documenting the rescue.

"I had to go just a little over 60 feet crawling like this, and then I finally saw the rest of them, and then I hear them yell behind me, 'you’ve got about a foot of rope left,' so I got one arm, and I was able to reach the last one by its leg, and it was the one making all the noise," said Gonzales.

Gonzales was successfully able to save all five kittens, and the kittens have since been reunited with their mom, who had been trapped that day.

"I know of Matt’s heart for these animals, because that’s how we met, and I knew he wouldn’t stop at anything to get them," said Maguire.

The kittens, along with their mom, are staying with Maguire. The mom will be placed up for adoption, as well as the kittens, once they are old enough to be spayed and neutered.

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