A Virginia woman’s pet toucan had a particularly rough day when a fall into the toilet led to his needing help from firefighters to escape from behind his owner’s dishwasher.
Arlington resident Maria Stagliano said Chester the toucan’s eventful day started when he fell into the toilet while she was cleaning the bathroom.
“He plopped in. He freaked out. I freaked out, I picked him up, scooped him, like brought him into the sink and started rinsing him off to make sure he was clean,” Stagliano told WUSA-TV.
Stagliano wrote on the @chester_the_toucan Instagram account that the bird is not fond of “forced baths” and fled the sink before she could dry him off.
“Next thing I know, I’m like, where the heck did Chester go? He disappeared into thin air,” Stagliano said.
She soon discovered Chester was behind her dishwasher, where she couldn’t reach.
Stagliano was worried Chester might find some roach or rat poison behind the appliance, and she found she couldn’t disassemble it without help.
Her building’s maintenance department determined the situation did not qualify as an emergency, so she contacted the Arlington County Fire Department.
“Thanks to the quick and careful work of our firefighters, Chester was safely rescued without any injuries,” the fire department said on social media.
Arlington County Firefighter Jake Easton, a 19-year veteran, said the situation was a first for him.
“You see all these comments about them taking us away from service. They were not, that’s our, this is our job. This is what we do. We help people, and I will also help birds whenever I have to,” Easton said.
Stagliano said Chester was not injured and has recovered from the stress of the situation.
“I’m so grateful for my local fire department for being so kind and willing to assist me. As a very overprotective pet owner, their kindness during my time of stress meant everything. This isn’t the typical ‘cat stuck in a tree’ scenario, but I am sure it’s a call they’ll remember,” she said.
