While on the hunt for speeders on Interstate 10, an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper made an unexpected interaction on the interstate median.
Back in November, trooper Patrick Stoner was using radar on I-10 when he heard a faint ‘meow’ from underneath him.
Camouflaged among the rocks, Stoner saw an orange cat lying down.
Body camera from the moment shows Stoner gently trying to earn the cat’s trust by talking to it and eventually petting it.
You can hear Stoner say, “please don’t bite me,” as he gets closer.
One of the cat’s back legs was injured. Stoner called for another trooper to take the cat to the humane society. Body camera captured Stoner telling the cat, ‘sit there, watch traffic and let me know if you see any speeders, okay?’
“Crawled right into my arms which was very special to me. In that moment I was like, this is a special connection,” said Stoner.
The injured back leg needed to be amputated.
When Stoner followed up after surgery and discovered the cat was unaccounted for and available for adoption – you could say he had ‘paws for thought.’
“This kind of happened at the right time for me and my family,” he said.
The week he found the cat, he and his family made the tough decision to put down a family dog of 16 years due to ongoing health issues. That came just a few months after the unexpected loss of another family dog.
“It definitely helped ease the pain for myself, my kids and my wife. Cheddar has been an amazing cat. Can’t believe how awesome she is. She meets us at the door when we come home. She plays fetch almost like a dog, it’s really amazing how well-behaved she is,” said Stoner.
The name ‘Cheddar’ evolved from Orange, the name his young kids initially gave the cat upon meeting her.
If you ask Stoner, she may be more gold than orange.
“Ever since I was young, I was taught to treat everyone as you would want to be treated,” he said.
