Cop Stops Traffic to Rescue Injured Kitten on a Busy Mississippi Highway

People will go to extraordinary lengths to rescue injured kittens, especially in the recent case of a police officer in Mississippi.

On May 16, Gulfport Patrol Officer Mike Hauler stopped traffic on southbound U.S. 49 to rescue an injured kitten in the middle of the road. A car reportedly struck the kitten as it was trying to cross the busy highway.

“I’m a huge animal lover,” Hauler told the Sun Herald. “I don’t like to see animals get hurt. If it’s in the road, I’ll get it out if I can.”

Seeing that it was still moving, Hauler put the kitten in his patrol car before releasing the stopped traffic on the highway.

Annie Glass Grinnell enters the scene.

Annie Glass Grinnell was on her way to work when she spotted Hauler’s kind deed. She captured the moment in a photo that she posted to Facebook.

“I wanted to express thanks to him and all other officers that go out of their way for a sensitively kind deed daily beyond the tough and dangerous job that they do to serve and protect their communities,” she wrote on Facebook. “It was a tragedy to see the little kitten in peril but truly beautiful to witness such a thoughtful act of sensitivity and kindness.”

As of May 19, the Facebook photo received over 1,900 shares.

Although the kitten did not survive, Hauler received praise for his heroic act thanks to Grinnell’s Facebook post going viral.

“I love to see the gentleman and the force getting so much positive attention as a reaction,” Annie Glass Grinnell wrote to Your Daily Dish.

The story has been very positive for the Gulfport Police Department.

“We are so fortunate where we police along the Gulf Coast,” Gulfport Police Chief Leonard Papania told WLOX. “I think this just exemplifies how our community treats us, and we should be thankful for that.”