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
Highway Patrol Officer Dominick Gatto and Petunia [NYPD]

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.

Read more: CBS2

Next Up

Woman Pleads Guilty To Fatally Shoving 87-Year-Old Broadway Singing Coach

Lauren Pazienza pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to eight years behind bars for the 2022 shoving death of NYC music coach Barbara Maier Gustern.

Truck Found 4 Years After Missing New York Teen Disappears On Road Trip To Tennessee

“I know in my heart that he’s gone, but that doesn’t mean we have stopped looking for him,” says the mother of Nieko Lisi.

New York Man Convicted Of Illegally Raising Sharks In 18-Foot Basement Pool

Investigators found seven sandbar sharks, a protected species, as well as several other dead fish.

Case Of Couple Who Vanished From Manhattan Apartment In 1997 Remains A Mystery

Did a feud with a landlord lead to the disappearance of Camden Sylvia and Michael Sullivan? If you have any information about this mystery, please contact Senior Investigator Robert Delaney with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office: (212) 335-8957.

Brooklyn Teen Charged With Hate Crime In Killing Of O'Shae Sibley

O'Shae Sibley was voguing to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album when Dmitriy Popov began spewing racist, homophobic slurs at him before allegedly fatally stabbing him in the chest.

Shaniece Harris Disappeared From New York In 2017, Her Family Is Still Searching For Answers

Shaniece Harris has brown hair, brown eyes, and stands 5 feet 8 inches tall. She was 31 years old when she vanished. If you have any information on where Shaniece could be, please contact the FBI directly: 212-384-1000.

Headless, Handless Body Found In 1980 Was Finally Identified Over Four Decades Later

On March 20, 1980, police in Fishkill, New York found a decapitated and handless body. 42 years later, the body was identified as 44-year-old Manhattan woman Anna L. Papalardo-Blake.

5 Things To Know About Drug Officer Andrew Thornton And The Real Story Of The ‘Cocaine Bear’

The real-life circumstances that inspired the movie 'Cocaine Bear' require just as much suspension of disbelief as the film inspired by these bizarrely true events.

Have You Seen Missing Teenagers Asia Wilbon Or Mackenzie Marken?

Both girls vanished during the night from their families’ homes.

Remembering The Victims Of The Buffalo Mass Shooting

On May 14, 2022, an 18-year-old gunman walked into the Tops Friendly Market and shot and killed ten people, injuring three others, in what authorities believe was a racially-motivated attack.