As you know, rural India is fraught with hazards to animals (and people), including blistering heat and unregulated traffic. But one of the worst hazards is the prevalence of open wells. Animal Rahat rescued four animals from these wretched death traps.

Do you see that little white spot in the middle of this photo? That’s a cat who had fallen into this well and somehow managed to scramble up the wall and into a crevice. We learned that he had been there for four days before someone thought to call Animal Rahat. Can you imagine how hungry and terrified he must have been?

Our team tried a variety of methods to get the cat out. One involved lowering a staffer, who was holding a net and sitting on a bamboo pole with ropes tied to each end, down to the crevice. But the cat was so frightened that he leapt away before the staffer could reach him. Finally, the team lowered the staffer all the way down into the well (which was shallow enough for him to stand up in), and he was able to catch the cat with the net.

After emerging from the well, the cat shot out of the net and ran away before anyone could check him for injuries. Fortunately, however, he went straight home, where the team found him unharmed and back in the custody of his very grateful guardian.