BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MIDDLETOWN - Barbara Miltenberger set out to rescue Tarzan from a tree.

Instead, she got bruises, became wedged in the tree and was slapped with charges of inducing panic for calling the fire department to rescue her after her trip to get the gray and white cat.

"I was flabbergasted," said Ms. Miltenberger, 46, after city police hauled her downtown and snapped mug shots. "This was the humane thing to do. I never set out to break the law."

But firefighters said the would-be good Samaritan created a potential hazard Wednesday by using an aluminum ladder that touched power lines.

"She did a very foolish thing," Deputy Fire Chief Jim Hall said. "It was a dangerous situation placing an aluminum ladder on power lines. It could have electrified the tree and the ground."

Firefighters claimed it took them about 90 minutes to get Ms. Miltenberger down from the tree. Ms. Miltenberger said it took about 10 minutes.

As for Tarzan, he was still in the tree.

So after a Thursday appearance in Middletown Municipal Court on the misdemeanor charge, Ms. Miltenberger and a group of friends set out to rescue him.

They cut the tree limb where he sat and slowly lowered it to the ground.

"I thought, 'If I've been arrested, then by golly, we're getting that cat,' " said Ms. Miltenberger, who owns a kennel and has been involved in animal rescue four years.

Ms. Miltenberger nabbed Tarzan after a short chase around the yard. She said he looked malnourished and dehydrated. He was at the veterinarian's office Thursday night getting tested for feline leukemia and will be put up for adoption if he's healthy.

Ms. Miltenberger is scheduled to appear in court again Aug. 11. "If I had to do it again tomorrow, I would," she said. "I just wouldn't call the fire department to come get me again if I got stuck."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.