They lifted the owl carefully out of the carrier, swaddled it in a pink hospital blanket and held it quietly as its feathers dried. The owl was perking up as Troncone called and found out that The Raptor Trust staff was there after hours and she could bring it in right away. Just a few minutes after the owl had arrived it was whisked away to the rescue facility for evaluation and rehabilitation. For Troncone, who left misery in a corporate cubicle to pursue the animal control job, being an EMT and animal control officer was a natural progression. “My father was an EMT when I was growing up, and I was always the one waiting up for him to get home,” Troncone remembers. “I’d ask him, ‘What was that one about? What did you get to do?’” EMTs don’t do it for the money (all South Orange Rescue Squad members are volunteers) and they don’t do it for the recognition. Troncone gets personal and professional satisfaction when she is able to come to the aid of both people and animals in need. “The animals don’t have a voice,” Troncone explains. “They can’t say, ‘Hey, I’m home alone, can someone come feed me?’ or ‘My owner is really mean. Can someone come help me?’” Once in a while someone stops the squad on the street to say thank you, like when Troncone and a couple of other squad members stopped into The Able Baker to pick up the beautiful cake they made for the dedication of the new rescue squad building. “Someone stopped us and said, ‘You saved my son! Thank you!’ Then another woman said, ‘You helped my son last week!’” Troncone smiled. “When I pass away I want to be remembered for something. I’ve delivered a baby, I’ve had CPR saves and when someone’s terrified to go to the hospital I’ve held their hand, and now I helped rescue an owl.” Kristen Ryan is an EMT on the South Orange Rescue Squad. She was honored and humbled to meet the rescued screech owl. Top photo by Dan Cohen, Photo of owl by Kristen Ryan.