PETS & ANIMALS

5-year-old girl helps save swan from drain on Long Island

Thursday, September 3, 2020

5-year-old girl helps save swan stuck in drain

Josh Einiger has more on a little girl with a big heart, who is responsible for saving a swan's life.

MERRICK, Long Island (WABC) -- An alert young girl on Long Island came to the rescue of a swan trapped in a storm drain and helped to save its life.

Olivia Cammarata, 5, was walking with her grandmother near her home when she heard a strange noise coming from the drain.

They texted her dad, they called the police, they called emergency services and animal control.

"This swan was definitely in distress, there was no way for it to get out on its own," said wildlife rehabilitator Karenlynn Stracher.

Emergency service officers lifted the drain cover while two wildlife rehabilitators safely removed the bird.

In the end, Nassau County's finest got the animal out -- with a little help from a net.

Everyone agrees that the swan never would have survived if it had not been for Cammarata.

Cammarata said she named the swan Peanut and she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.

"It's just amazing with everything that's going on right now and the stress that children and their parents are under, that this little girl and a swan can just bring a smile to everybody's face for a little while," Nassau County Police Department Officer David Tait said. "It's a good feeling."

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