Hannah Baldwin

The News-Star

Mike Roberts and Terry Duncan called out as they searched the second floor of Duncan's Town and Country home Thursday.

They were looking for Metu, a 6-year-old blind cat Duncan was forced to leave behind when she was evacuated by the National Guard last week.

When the National Guard evacuated the residents, they said, they could only take people. So Duncan left food, water and a litter box for Metu in one of the upstairs bedrooms when she left.

Duncan imagined Metu was afraid, running around and banging into walls.

They found her hiding under Duncan's bed.

Duncan picked Metu up and held her tightly, burying her face in the cat's fur.

She and Roberts put the cat in a collapsible kennel. Then, Roberts carried her downstairs to his truck.

Roberts said it was an easy rescue.

Metu was the second cat he's saved since flooding began last week. He has rescued two dogs and retrieved the body of a drowned Cocker spaniel, too. On Sunday, he had to kayak into Town and Country to rescue a dachshund left in an attic on Jana Drive.

He keeps the kayak in the back of his grey Ford F150 just in case he needs it for a rescue.

"Anytime I can help animals," Roberts said.

He knows what it's like to care about a pet.

Roberts is a home inspector by trade. He once found a dog that had been abandoned during an inspection. Six years and $500 in vet bills later, she is his best friend.

Helping people is part of who Roberts is. He's reached out to people offering help throughout the flooding. People have reached out to him about rescuing their pets by word of mouth or on Facebook, where he's even posted his phone number.

He spent the drive between the Town and Country subdivision and the CenturyLink parking lot on the phone with someone else who needed help.

"See? I'm the one they call," he said. 'I call myself 'The Caretaker.'"

Roberts estimates that Duncan will be out of her home for about a month. In the meantime, Metu will stay with Dawn Biering, who volunteered to foster the cat until Duncan is able to care for her again.

Roberts and Duncan met Biering, who works for CenturyLink, in the parking lot near her office on Oliver Road. Biering told Duncan she could visit Metu any time she wanted.

The women hugged. Roberts helped Biering put Metu's kennel in the back of her car.

"Help is free. Love is free," he said as he drove away.