Stunner
05-14-2006, 01:19 PM
SAN BERNARDINO - It was the kitten that launched a thousand phone calls.
Listeners tuning in Thursday morning to alternative radio station X103.9-FM were regaled with a horrific story of fun gone wrong.
A 4-month-old kitten, which happened to be in the studio at the wrong time, apparently was placed in a basket and lifted 300 feet in the air by attached helium balloons.
The basket, the disc jockeys said, was last seen flying somewhere over Devore.
The announcement spurred hundreds of phone calls to the station from dismayed listeners – some of whom jumped in their vehicles and took off in search of the basket – and just as many phone calls to animal control agencies around the county.
Turns out it was all a big hoax. The kitten in the basket was a plush toy and by 10:30 a.m., the basket, which was briefly about 300 feet up in the air, was back in the station office, sans cat, said morning show co-host Jen Carr.
‘‘We were trying to find a way to show the bad things that could happen (with animals) if you’re careless. It got out of hand obviously,’’ she said. ‘‘It was meant to be a joke; it was never meant to be something taken so seriously.’’
But Sue Hoak, San Bernardino Animal Control operations manager, wasn’t laughing. The agency’s emergency hot line was tied up for hours with calls from listeners and from other animal control agencies wondering how the situation was being handled.
An agency staffer called the radio station and was assured the cat really was in a basket floating somewhere high above the greater San Bernardino area.
It wasn’t until a San Bernardino police officer and an animal control officer showed up at the station that the joke was revealed.
‘‘I have an inclination to send them a bill for all the time involved and for tying up our phone lines,’’ Hoak said. ‘‘It’s very irresponsible of the radio station and the disc jockeys to put on a stunt like this like it’s funny.’’
Martin Mersereau, who manages the domestic animal abuse department for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said morning radio personalities are stooping to new lows in ‘‘their desperate bid for listeners.’’
‘‘We hope the city, on behalf of hardworking citizens, will waste no time in suing their eyeballs out,’’ he said.
The idea for the prank began with a real kitten, Mr. Tinkles, belonging to station engineer Fred Fullmer. He started bringing the cat to work about a week ago, Carr said.
The Thursday morning shtick is billed as a test gone wrong: The DJs are sucking on helium balloons and talking in squeaky voices. Carr already loves playing with the cat, which is in the studio.
They start attaching balloons to a basket to see how many are needed to float a rubber chicken. Enter the cat.
They go outside to see how much helium it would take to get the kitten airborne. And then the basket with the newest addition to Fullmer’s household floats off, out of reach.
‘‘We absolutely did not expect the outpouring of anger and total chaos that ensued with people being really irate about it,’’ Carr said. ‘‘I don’t believe we’ll be doing this again.’’
The cat, so to speak, is out of the basket.
Source: Dailybulletin.com
Listeners tuning in Thursday morning to alternative radio station X103.9-FM were regaled with a horrific story of fun gone wrong.
A 4-month-old kitten, which happened to be in the studio at the wrong time, apparently was placed in a basket and lifted 300 feet in the air by attached helium balloons.
The basket, the disc jockeys said, was last seen flying somewhere over Devore.
The announcement spurred hundreds of phone calls to the station from dismayed listeners – some of whom jumped in their vehicles and took off in search of the basket – and just as many phone calls to animal control agencies around the county.
Turns out it was all a big hoax. The kitten in the basket was a plush toy and by 10:30 a.m., the basket, which was briefly about 300 feet up in the air, was back in the station office, sans cat, said morning show co-host Jen Carr.
‘‘We were trying to find a way to show the bad things that could happen (with animals) if you’re careless. It got out of hand obviously,’’ she said. ‘‘It was meant to be a joke; it was never meant to be something taken so seriously.’’
But Sue Hoak, San Bernardino Animal Control operations manager, wasn’t laughing. The agency’s emergency hot line was tied up for hours with calls from listeners and from other animal control agencies wondering how the situation was being handled.
An agency staffer called the radio station and was assured the cat really was in a basket floating somewhere high above the greater San Bernardino area.
It wasn’t until a San Bernardino police officer and an animal control officer showed up at the station that the joke was revealed.
‘‘I have an inclination to send them a bill for all the time involved and for tying up our phone lines,’’ Hoak said. ‘‘It’s very irresponsible of the radio station and the disc jockeys to put on a stunt like this like it’s funny.’’
Martin Mersereau, who manages the domestic animal abuse department for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said morning radio personalities are stooping to new lows in ‘‘their desperate bid for listeners.’’
‘‘We hope the city, on behalf of hardworking citizens, will waste no time in suing their eyeballs out,’’ he said.
The idea for the prank began with a real kitten, Mr. Tinkles, belonging to station engineer Fred Fullmer. He started bringing the cat to work about a week ago, Carr said.
The Thursday morning shtick is billed as a test gone wrong: The DJs are sucking on helium balloons and talking in squeaky voices. Carr already loves playing with the cat, which is in the studio.
They start attaching balloons to a basket to see how many are needed to float a rubber chicken. Enter the cat.
They go outside to see how much helium it would take to get the kitten airborne. And then the basket with the newest addition to Fullmer’s household floats off, out of reach.
‘‘We absolutely did not expect the outpouring of anger and total chaos that ensued with people being really irate about it,’’ Carr said. ‘‘I don’t believe we’ll be doing this again.’’
The cat, so to speak, is out of the basket.
Source: Dailybulletin.com