6-Year-Old Nabs PETA Award for Coming to Trapped Kitten’s Rescue

When Firefighters Were Too Big, Janeysha Cruz Bravely Entered Storm Drain to Retrieve Frightened Kitten

For Immediate Release:
June 4, 2015

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

A Hero to Animals Award is on its way from PETA Kids to Janeysha Cruz, the 6-year-old girl who rescued a kitten stuck in a Lancaster storm drain on May 26. Firefighters had responded to a call from Janeysha’s mother about the kitten’s plight but soon discovered that they were too large to fit down the tiny drain. With her mother’s permission, the firefighters lowered Janeysha down into the drain, and she carefully snatched up the frightened animal. The kitten, now named Stormy, has since been adopted. Photos of the rescue are available here.

“Thanks to this brave little girl, this kitten escaped a frightening ordeal and found a loving home,” says PETA Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “PETA Kids hopes Janeysha’s kindness and selflessness will inspire people of all ages to come to the aid of animals in need.”

Not every cat is as lucky as Stormy—millions of abandoned, unwanted animals are left to languish on the streets every year. For every puppy or kitten purchased from a breeder or pet store, a dog or cat in an animal shelter loses his or her chance at finding a home. PETA Kids (whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”) reminds everyone that the best way to help dogs and cats is to adopt and never buy—and, of course, always spay and neuter.

For more information, please visit PETAKids.com/Janeysha.