Animal Planet has filmed segments in Maggie Valley NC about a cat named "Leroy" who is now considered a hero. Powderhouse Productions was in Maggie Valley on January 20, 2010 to film Leroy (and his owner Bryan Hickman) for a series on Animal Planet that will premiere in the fall of 2010. This past November Leroy, the cat, and Bryan Hickman played a vital role in saving the lives of their neighbors who were in a burning building. The building was destroyed and yet no one was harmed!

Leroy, the cat, woke up his owner, Bryan Hickman, on November 17, 2010 by incessant meowing at his head.  Bryan got up to let Leroy out and the cat ran to the back door instead of the front door where he is usually let out from.  When Bryan got to the back door he saw flames coming out of the roofs in the townhouses next to him. Bryan quickly went next door to get the people out unharmed. According to Bryan "Thank God for that cat, if he never woke me up, I don't know if anyone would have gotten out." A local newspaper has rightly named Bryan "The Mountaineer's Hometown Hero". Bryan Hickman is the owner of Reliable Tree Care.

The Animal Planet segment this fall will focus on the senses that cats have that are beyond our human ability. It is believed that cats have senses that enabled Leroy, the hero cat, to be able to smell and hear the fire, which was somehing that Bryan would not have been capable of.

David Craven
RE/MAX Mountain Realty
David@DavidCraven.com
www.WaynesvilleHomes-ForSale.com
www.HomesForNC.com