Earlier this month, officer Frank Squillante of the New York Police Department (NYPD) rescued a small tabby kitten from under a food truck near Central Park after multiple 911 calls reported an animal possibly struck by a vehicle. When he arrived, a crowd pointed him to a truck, and he found the kitten when he reached into the wheel area and it licked his hand. He pulled the tiny cat out safely and brought him into his patrol car.
The kitten, who was later named Cheech, appeared shaken but calmed down once Squillante held him. Cheech was taken back to the precinct and then to the ASPCA to be checked out by a veterinarian. Squillante says he believed the kitten, which the vet says is probably about five weeks old, may have crawled under the food truck to stay warm and the calls from bystanders likely saved the kitten’s life.