A complaint about a little cat walking alone close to a major junction came in as the Lakeland Police Department’s evening shift was just getting started. Officer Mike Cardin was dispatched to investigate, and when he arrived, he discovered the cat snuggled up beneath a lamp post, inches from Saturday night traffic. Quickly catching the appreciative kitty, he carried her back to the station.

The kennel at the station was much too big (and thus very escapable) for the little kitten, so Officer Cardin fashioned her a cardboard box and then put that box in the kennel. The kitten was supposed to wait there until animal control could come and pick her up — but then Sergeant Brian Wallace started his shift.

As soon as Wallace learned of the newest station resident, he decided to keep her company during his shift, because for some reason, he just couldn’t bring himself to leave her alone.

“I got to the station just after Cardin had secured her and went to check on her,” Wallace told The Dodo. “Here she was, alone and frightened. Since this was not too long after the beginning of the shift, I just couldn’t leave her in that box for about 10 more hours, just to have animal control take her away.”

The kitten was held by Wallace while he worked at his desk; although she was first startled and perplexed, the longer she remained on Wallace’s lap, the more at ease she seemed to become.

After a while it was time for Wallace to go out on patrol — and so he took the kitten with him for that, too.

Wallace claimed, “I took the box she was initially in and put it in the passenger seat of my police car, facing me. She remained there for the remainder of the evening and didn’t seem to mind, I may add.

Wallace spent the entirety of his shift with the cat, and once it was through, he decided he wasn’t ready to let her go.

And so, Sergeant Wallace adopted the kitten as his own, and named her Kelsey.

“That little face … I was done,” Wallace said.

Kelsey has successfully adapted and is currently at home with Sergeant Wallace. She’s still getting accustomed to living in a comfortable house rather being on the streets, and she’s savoring every new convenience that comes her way. Of course, her fantastic new dad, who is already her closest buddy, is her favorite aspect of her house.