Nolan Smith is a cat lover. So, therefore, when a black cat appeared in his Springhill, Nova Scotia, yard, he wanted to greet it. And it was because of Nolan’s desire to meet this feline guest that the 13-year-old hero and his brother were able to save an elderly neighbor who had fallen and broken her hip.
Nolan braved the cold to meet the cat, and as he walked about his yard giving the mischievous kitten pets, he heard a voice shouting for help. Following the pleas for help, Nolan discovered his 93-year-old neighbor, who was hurt and bleeding from the back of her skull, laying in her backyard. She’d been lying on the hard ground for half an hour, unable to get up after falling, in the frigid temperatures of a Canadian winter day when Nolan discovered her and went into action.
No one wants to be outside with snow on the ground and temperatures trying to stay above freezing. Nolan is one of them. On such a frigid day, only a cat could get him outside. So, the black cat that drew him into his yard that day turned out to be a good luck charm for his injured neighbor.
Nolan spoke with CBC News about the rescue and recalled that the temperature on that January day was around 14 degrees F. “I went over there in my slippers,” he said, explaining that he’d merely been out for a talk with the cat and wasn’t equipped for the weather.
He didn’t think about the cold when he heard someone in distress, and as he described, “I felt scared and nervous.”
All of his problems were pushed aside when he discovered his neighbor in distress. Nolan set about bringing her to safety right away, but he realized they’d need a bit more help, so he called his brother. Nicholas, a 19-year-old, arrived in a rush. The Smith brothers worked together to transport the woman to a warmer location and dialed 911. She was taken to the hospital by emergency services, where she spent a few days healing from a broken pelvis and other minor injuries sustained in the accident.
“Our family is very appreciative of what Nolan and Nicholas did for our mother to save her life,” the neighbor’s family told CBC News.
Cumberland-Colchester MP Stephen Ellis, who is proud to have young men of such outstanding character, awarded the Smith brothers with awards honoring their acts in saving a community member’s life.
The certificate stated, “What a wonderful gesture of charity.” “For years to ahead, your compassion for others and heroic efforts will ensure you nothing but success.”
“I feel fairly good that I helped her and that she’s OK now,” Nolan remarked when asked how he felt about the rescue.
While Nolan and his brother are the protagonists of this story, Nolan would not have been in the right location at the right time if it hadn’t been for the enigmatic black cat that drew him into the cold in the first place. This is yet another story that demonstrates the superiority of cats. Whether they realize it or not, they’re furry heroes on paws!
