RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Rachel Martin. Kitten stuck up a tree - there's always a hero ready to save the day. But this weekend in Germany, rescue workers were summoned to the aid of a giant rat. And these first responders were really committed because they were freeing this particularly heavy rodent from a sewer manhole, where she had gotten stuck. It took a whole team of firefighters to free the poor critter. One member of the rescue team said, quote, "even animals that are hated by many deserve respect." Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.