That stowaway, authorities said, was a kitten found in the engine compartment and she apparently had safely made the hours-long trek from Atlanta to Birmingham. The kitten was hot and had some small burns, but is expected to be OK.
"I don't see how anything that small can ride that long and survive,'' said Jefferson County sheriff's Deputy Tim Sanford. "It had melted her little paws."
It was about 7 p.m. Wednesday when Sanford stopped to assist a stranded motorist along I-20 just west of Leeds. The family was traveling from Atlanta back to Pickens County when they hit a pot hole and had a flat tire. Sanford offered to change the tire for them to help speed them on their way, said Chief Deputy Randy Christian.
As he worked the jack near the front tire, he spotted something darting in and out of the engine compartment, and then heard a faint cry. He had the driver open the hood and discovered the small gray and white kitten inside.
"By that time, she was screaming,'' Deputy Sanford said. "I wound up getting under the car and retrieving the kitten. As soon as I snuggled her like a baby, she calmed right down."
Sanford said the motorists didn't own a cat, and said they hadn't made any stops since they left downtown Atlanta. The deputy named the kitten Atlanta and, after getting her some food and water, dropped her off at the Greater Birmingham Humane Society where she will be cared for and put up for adoption, likely sometime next week.
The deputy said law enforcement officers never know what they'll encounter daily. "Sometimes it's just wide open,'' said Sanford, who is a K-9 handler and animal lover. "Things like this, it'll touch your heart."
"That's a remarkable kitten and I hope it finds a loving home,'' Christian said. "That deputy isn't too bad either. Awfully proud of him."
(AL.com - May 19, 2016)
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