Meet Scrappy the grey tabby, who ‘adopted’ a Greensboro fireplace station

For greater than 15 years, Scrappy has pawed his method into the hearts of firefighters and guests.

“Nothing fazes him,” stated Hannah Johnson, a senior firefighter. “When the truck rides by he is aware of precisely what to do. He stays put, or he’ll wait until the truck leaves and also you’ll see him scoot out the door.”

The grey tabby’s notched ear provides a clue about his youth as a feral cat — a part of a colony that lived off Downwind Highway between the fireplace station and an indoor gun vary.

Animal welfare teams typically notch the ears of feral cats which have been trapped and spayed or neutered in order that they aren’t collected once more for the process.

Retired fireplace engineer Todd Shelton recollects Scrappy watching him from the woods close to the station in west Greensboro years in the past.

“I had a cat, and so I simply began bringing meals and I’d sit it there beside my truck,” Shelton stated.

Initially, Scrappy would solely come for the meals after Shelton left.

It took greater than a month for the cat to start to belief Shelton sufficient to let the firefighter pet him.

Shelton put a canine home lined with blankets on the porch of the fireplace station and finally Scrappy discovered his method into the bay space.

“As time progressed, he simply received extra snug with everyone and the noises and all that. From then on, he was similar to the station cat and he type of dominated the roost there,” Shelton stated with a chuckle. “All of the crews have taken care of him. I believe it’s simply good stress aid to have him round.”

Scrappy earned his identify at some point when he chased a a lot greater tomcat away from the station.

Recalled Shelton: “I used to be telling the fellows ‘he’s a scrappy rascal’ and that simply caught.”

Through the years, firefighters have taken Scrappy to get veterinary care. It wasn’t till not too long ago {that a} vet talked about a cat the station assumed was a she was really … a he.

“For 11 to 13 of the 15 years, we thought this was a woman cat,” Johnson stated.

Scrappy is even listed on the roster as “senior feline” and howls on the kitchen window if he desires to come back into the bay and the doorways are closed.

The crew takes up a group to pay for vet care and prescription meals to deal with his “outdated man points,” which Johnson stated runs about $65 per bag.

She stated the firefighters are cautious to clean their palms after dealing with the cat “simply since you by no means know who’s allergic.”

Scrappy can be successful with guests, particularly kids who come by to see the vehicles.

Mentioned Johnson: “It’s at all times a shock … like ‘Oh my gosh, you guys have a cat?'”

She corrects individuals, although: “We don’t actually have a cat. He form of adopted us and likes to hang around right here.”