Ambulance service has purr-fect mascot
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Herman II, an orange tabby, has unknowingly gone along on a call or two.
A longtime Ambulance & Chair Services attendant has taken to sleeping on a spare stretcher during downtime at the office.
Herman II, an 8-year-old cat, has made the ambulance station his home, and the stretcher his bed.
“He pretty much runs the business,” said Manager Rodney Rohrer, who is allergic to cats. “He has a lot of different beds around here. He likes to make himself comfortable.”
Frank Craig, a mechanic for the Washington company who’s been an employee for 21 years, said Herman was a stray kitten that wandered into the ambulance garage years ago.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Paramedic Randy Saut gives Herman II a scratch on the back in greeting as the two pass each other in the garage at Ambulance & Chair Service in Washington.
“He came walking right in and someone started feeding him cheese,” Craig said.
It’s not the first cat named Herman the department has taken in, Rohrer said. Years ago, another stray cat, the first Herman, had wandered inside the facility. He was the department pet for about 20 years, before he got sick and had to be put down.
“Just days after we had to put Herman I down, this little stray kitten walked into the garage, and it looked like Herman’s offspring,” Rohrer said. “He looked just like Herman.”
Both Hermans have been out on calls, without the crew members knowing it. Rohrer said that when they first took in Herman II, he used to like climbing into the ambulance and sitting on top of the roof.
Courtesy of Ambulance & Chair
Courtesy of Ambulance & Chair
Herman II likes to sit in on training to be up to date on the latest skills.
Once while Herman II was still little, the crew left for a call and didn’t see that the cat was sitting on the roof of the ambulance. During the ride, Herman fell off and was missing for a few days. Rohrer said crew members posted pictures of the missing cat, which led them to Washington Area Humane Society.
“His leg and hip were shattered,” Rohrer said. “The humane society was going to put him down.”
Ambulance & Chair took Herman to a veterinarian in the area, who put a rod in his leg and doctored him back to health.
“They watch him really close,” Rohrer said of his co-workers. “If he’s sick, they take him to the vet.”
Another time, Herman II took a stealthy ride in an ambulance that was on a call in Claysville. When the ambulance doors opened, Herman took off and was missing in the Claysville area for a few days before they were able to recover him.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
PHRN Ashley Coyle gives Herman II some treats after she arrives at the station for her shift.
Rohrer said that anytime the ambulance workers discover Herman II has hitched a ride, they typically have to call for another ambulance to come pick him up and take him home.
Paramedic Randy Saut said sneaky Herman II likes to find new hiding places in the garage.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Resting
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Herman II rests on a backup stretcher inside the garage at Ambulance & Chair Service.
“He’s been locked into about every cabinet in here,” Saut said.
Ashley Coyle, a pre-hospital registered nurse who’s worked with the company since 2005, said that Herman II will often wander in the station’s neighborhood on Braden Street, but he always finds his way home.
“He comes and goes, but he knows this is his home,” Coyle said.
She said he scares away other stray cats in the area as a means of marking his territory. He also knows how to open the dispatch office door to let himself out when he needs water and snacks, or when he needs to greet a crew that’s just returned to the station.
Saut said that at the end of a long shift, Herman’s nice to have around.
“He can be a good stress-reliever,” he said. “When you have a bad call, Herman listens.”
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Herman II takes a stroll through the garage to keep tabs on everyone and anything inside Ambulance & Chair Service, Washington.