A Georgia deputy ended up on an unexpected rescue mission after a tiny kitten became trapped behind a car engine — and a drum stick helped save the day.
The rescue happened Tuesday, June 16, near the Spout Springs Library in Flowery Branch, Georgia, where Hall County Sheriff’s Office school resource officer Nick Jackson was working election security.
While on duty, Jackson noticed two women standing near a car with the hood popped open. Something was clearly wrong, so he walked over to check on them.
“Two ladies appeared to be in a dilemma, so he went to investigate,” the Hall County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post. “The ladies told him there was a kitten trapped behind the engine.”
Body camera footage from the rescue showed the women explaining that there had actually been three kittens inside the car. They had already managed to get two of them out, but the third kitten, a little black-and-white one, was still stuck.
“The one that’s in there is right up on her transmission, and we can’t get it,” one of the women told Jackson.
That is when the deputy got creative.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
Using a drum stick the women happened to have in the car, along with his flashlight, Jackson carefully worked to free the kitten from behind the engine. After some careful maneuvering, he was able to lift the tiny animal to safety.
“I’m glad you had that drum stick, that worked perfect!” Jackson told the women in the body camera video. “Because what it did was distract him.”
The women said they had no idea how the kittens ended up inside the car, but they were relieved they had heard the meowing and stopped to investigate. They planned to take all three kittens to a local humane society so they could get the care they needed.
The sweet rescue also gave the Hall County Sheriff’s Office a chance to have a little fun with another local emergency agency.
Just days earlier, Hall County Fire Rescue had helped save an injured black lab that became trapped in a ravine during a storm. Firefighters carried the dog out of the woods and got it to safety before it was taken to a veterinarian.
The sheriff’s office praised the firefighters for that rescue, then jokingly raised the stakes with its kitten rescue.
“So, we saw those heartwarming photos of last week’s dog rescue by firefighters from Hall County Fire Rescue. Great job, guys, but we’ll see your dog rescue and raise you a kitten rescue from a car engine,” the sheriff’s office teased online. “The ball’s back in your court, Hall County Fire Rescue!”
For one tiny kitten, a scary hiding spot behind a car engine turned into a lucky rescue — thanks to two alert women, a quick-thinking deputy and one very useful drum stick.