Feb. 28-- When Shakespeare District patrol officer Enrique Molas found out that a rooster with a broken wing was trapped on the CTA's Blue Line tracks, memories from his island boyhood sent him to the Logan Square subway station "right away."
"I pretty much knew what to do,'' Molas said. "I grew up in the Philippines; we have a lot of livestock.''
It still isn't known how the animal got onto the northbound tracks at the subway station at 2620 N. Milwaukee Ave., but power was turned off at about 12:14 a.m., according to CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski.
Molas, an 11-year veteran who works the midnight shift, said he simply put on a pair of protective gloves and ventured out onto the tracks.
"I saw the bird still alive — and tired," he said. "When I came down I didn't want to startle it, I just wanted to approach it really carefully.''
Molas, 50, a North Side resident, said the injured bird was well behaved and didn't struggle when he picked it up.
Personnel from the city's Department of Animal Care and Control were summoned to the scene and 12 minutes later, the service was restored, Hosinski said.
Sadly, Molas' rescue didn't lead to a happy ending for the injured animal.
"Unfortunately, the vet examined the rooster and determined that he has a broke wing and will be euthanized,'' animal control executive director Cherie Travis.
Molas said he was surprised at all the attention he's gotten since the rescue was broadcast on YouTube.
"I didn't expect that it would be this blown out of proportion," he said.
Twitter: @RosemarySobol1
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