Tallahassee, Florida - September 8, 2011 0

I hadn't been at the Tallahassee Animal Shelter more than 30 minutes when all heck broke loose!

My mentor, Tallahassee Animal Control officer Linda Stamper, was showing me the boxes where people leave animals when a lady pulled up to drop off two young cats.

One made it safely in the box, the other made a break for it!

Linda thought she had the runaway cornered, but a scaredy cat can do a lot of damage with a full set of teeth and claws!

Linda tried to hold on, but the wild-eyed cat bit her hand and scratched her arms. It wound up in the rafters of a gazebo with no intention of coming down.

I even started to jump into the fray, but Linda told me in no uncertain terms to back off and stay safe

Even with help from other workers, Houdini the cat got away again and tried to climb a fence.

The critter was finally lassoed and put in quarantine, but the damage was done. I asked, "That cat could have rabies, right? Is that why it's quarantined?"

Linda's reply, "Absolutely, yeah."

You might think someone else would have to finish the story with us but, no, a little peroxide and Linda was good to go! One of Linda's most memorable calls over the past 14 years was to catch a 15-foot python in the middle of the night. She grabbed the head, and six deputies helped her wrestle it into the vehicle.

Says Linda, "they put it in the truck, closed the door and said 'See ya!' I went, wait a minute!"

Linda often witnesses the mistreatment of animals like young dogs with ingrown collars. She says people put a collar on them when they're a puppy, and then they start gaining weight. Linda says
once they start growing the collar literally cuts into the flesh.

It was time to hit the road and check traps on the south side of Tallahassee. Linda loves this part of town. "The bad dogs are down here, wonderful people."

A Siamese cat was waiting for us in a trap behind a home. "He was in no mood to be friends and slammed into the sides of the cage trying to find a way out.

Once the cat is removed it was time to bait the next trap.

Apparently I did it wrong, getting the slimy cat food on my hands. Linda's comment? "Except the idea is not to smell like cat food!"

Catching this cat was not that much of a challenge for Linda, but her finger is still numb from an encounter with another Siamese.

"It broke a bone," Linda said. " It nearly decapitated my finger... this one right here."

Despite such painful encounters, Linda loves her job.

"When you rescue something and it looks up into your eyes and you know that you're that animal's hero,there's nothing like it,nothing like it."