Meet ‘Treelimb’ Jim Dunlap of New Leaf Tree Care

Today we’d like to introduce you to ‘Treelimb’ Jim Dunlap.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m a production arborist working in and caring for trees. It’s the third career arc I’ve taken. Rescuing cats from trees is a rather obscure branch of working in trees.

I worked for my neighbor’s weekend tree service as a teen and went into landscaping and horticulture. Lots of heavy physical work with little rewards.

I turned to something more mentally challenging and the computer and telecom industries were expanding. It was a nice ride through many innovations and applications. When the wave of development in electronics and software began to subside, I found myself in yet another job search, looking out a window. I had been working on tiny bits of very complex tools. It was interesting, well compensated, but didn’t satisfy a sense of contribution to the Community.

Drawn back to the out-of-doors, I traded a cubicle and a large salary for what I soon discovered was my Calling, I chose working with trees again. It wasn’t about the pursuit of money, but I’d be compensated along the way.

It took about a year to physically get into shape and I used that ability to continuously and quickly learn developed by my engineering career, to learn in depth about the care of trees.

With the help from brother, a career arborist in another part of the country, and many in the industry I got established. I stumbled upon an opportunity to be the staff arborist at SMU for several years and have developed New Leaf Tree Care on quality service to the trees and their caretakers– my clients.

But this is about rescuing cats from trees.

While attending an international conference by the ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) in 2003 (according to www2.catinatreerescue.com), a group of arborists heard about Dan Kraus’ efforts in the Seattle area rescuing cats from trees.

No, it’s not about the Norman Rockwell painting. I have great respect for firefighting personnel, their training, their equipment, and their mission. They are well trained and outfitted to save human lives. I believe it’s a dangerous misappropriation of their skills and resources to attempt to rescue cats from trees.

Back to the group of arborists. Several men and women who regularly climb trees were sharing stories, as arborists do at conferences.

Many admitted they had been called by concerned cat guardians whose ward had taken to the trees. Dan had or was planning a site, He emailed a few weeks later to put my presence on the map.

And thus, as an arborist, I began my service as a Cat Tree Rescuer. I am in debt to Dan Kraus, Peter ‘Treeman’ Jenkins, Tom Dunlap, Danny Lyons, and many other tree people for openly sharing our knowledge and techniques.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Well, when you’re the ONLY one in a service area, the struggles are different. And you pick the word, it’s just plain unconventional.

For my day job, I ascend into a canopy, with safety and skills, and I am carrying the sharp toothed objects. Cat rescue means the subject has the armament and much more agility and strength.

At times, I convinced other arborists to put their contact info, but interest has ebbed. One has to be passionate, with limits.

I’ve (and my partner climber, Justin Grego) rescued and subsequently been bitten by a very vocal and feral cat in Fort Worth. The cat needed to be impounded because it bit [both of] us, not necessarily for rabies but other, much more prevalent diseases cats harbor.

I’ve been bit several times, endured angry bees, had tree limbs fail.

I’ve been from Greenville to Ft. Worth, Lewisville and McKinney to Balch Springs and Duncanville.

I have been interrupted from Friday night dates to take a Cat Call. Sometimes to the annoyance of my date.

Only 20-25% of the calls involve me going to the site.

I do not rescue at night, sometimes to the chagrin of a caretaker. It’s difficult and dangerous enough to climb trees in daylight.

I have had my failures.

New Leaf Tree Care – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I work on a fee-per-service but on the honor system. Sometimes my request is to direct a donation to another group or to do some civic service.

One rescue, the day before Easter, in Pleasant Grove, I asked the kid to donate his week’s allowance as an offering and tell Padre that he knew a better use for it than me.

Doing a cat rescue is tremendously more dangerous than pruning or tree removal. Amongst other things, trees’ branches are relatively stationary; the cat is mobile.

I’m an arborist. Skilled, passionate, compassionate, and a little bit of cowboy. I’m not a tree cutter, not a job hustler, not [necessarily] the Lorax, either.

Someone has to take care of Eden.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success doesn’t require a clear path ahead as sometimes the task at hand is the path that needs to be constructed.

It is in the result, the wake, the aftermath. Did I serve myself or did I serve the greater goodness?

Contact Info:

• Phone: 214 850 1528
• Email: treelimbjim@gmail.com

Image Credit:
Thank you Tree Man, Tarzan, and Jane.

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.