A Baaad Commute: Police Officer Rescues Baby Sheep From New York Freeway

The lamb has been given a new name – Petunia — and a second shot at life.

March 15, 2019

Photo by: Highway Patrol Officer Dominick Gatto and Petunia [NYPD]

Highway Patrol Officer Dominick Gatto and Petunia [NYPD]

By: Catherine Townsend

BROOKLYN, NY —A baby sheep trapped on a busy Brooklyn highway got a lucky break after a police officer rescued it while shocked drivers looked on.

Commuters began posting photos of the lamb standing on the shoulder of the road to social media at about 9:15 a.m.

Highway Patrol Officer Dominick Gatto told New York's WCBS-TV that he struggled to capture the black sheep on the side of the elevated Gowanus Expressway in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. “It was running right at me, and I didn’t realize how fast it was. I tried to reach down and grab it as it coming close to me, but it juked around me and just kept on running,” Gatto said.

Eventually, Officer Gatto was able to drive ahead of her and get close enough to put her into his vehicle. He then reportedly drove her to the Animal Care Center on Staten Island.

The lamb received a new name – Petunia –and a second shot at life.

Vaccaro said that police have “no idea” where Petunia came from, but added that since she was not tagged, authorities do not believe that she escaped from a slaughterhouse.

Petunia will be sent to Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue in New Jersey, which, according to WCBS-TV, is the same sanctuary that took in a pregnant cow that escaped a slaughterhouse last year.

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