While walking to their local park the other night, Destinie Freeman and her dog, Popcorn, stumbled across something that stopped them in their tracks. Suddenly, their initial plan for an evening play session turned into a frantic rescue mission.
“We were approaching the park when I saw something that looked like a paper bag on the ground,” Freeman told The Dodo. “It was pretty dark, so I let Popcorn go investigate, assuming it was nothing, when it started meowing!”Popcorn jumped back in fright, and Freeman sprang into action. She secured Popcorn to a tree about 15 feet away with a long leash, then scooped up the kitten to investigate.
Thankfully, the kitten was uninjured, but she was trembling with fear. And her uneasiness only intensified as Freeman carried her over to Popcorn.
“I tried grabbing her and just carrying her home with Popcorn, but she was so scared, she wouldn’t let me hold her next to him,” Freeman said.Freeman quickly realized she wouldn’t be able to walk home with both Popcorn and the kitten safely, so she devised a new plan: She’d return the kitten to the tree where they’d found her, drop Popcorn off at home, then race back with a proper cat carrier and treats.
But when Freeman returned to the park 10 minutes later with all her rescue gear in tow, the kitten was nowhere to be found.
Freeman used her phone’s flashlight to search around the park while calling out to the kitten, all to no avail. She was devastated.
“After about 15 minutes of looking, I sat down in defeat,” Freeman said. “Just as I was about to give up and go home, sure enough … she came running towards me!”The kitten eagerly approached Freeman, as if she knew she was finally being saved. Freeman carried her home, then began searching around for the sweet girl’s family — until she learned the sad truth.
“After checking our neighborhood lost pets page, I pieced together that she was a local stray kitten that neighbors had been feeding for a while, and nobody had taken her in yet,” Freeman said.When a vet later confirmed that the kitten didn’t have a microchip or a family, the Freemans decided she was already home.
“We’ve been surprised by how well she’s done with Popcorn, but honestly, she has really stolen my 7-year-old daughter’s heart,” Freeman said. “And that’s why we chose to keep her.”Everyone is smitten with the new kitten, who is still nameless, but Freeman’s daughter is especially head over heels for her new friend.
While the Freemans sift through a list of potential names — including Star, Toast, Butter, Kernel and Tubs — the kitten is settling into her new home and, slowly but surely, bonding with Popcorn.
“They’re figuring it out!” Freeman said. “The kitten has stolen his bed a couple times, and he’s honestly a little scared of her! I’m sure once she’s all settled in, they’ll be best buds.”It may take a while for Popcorn to get used to having a fourth cat sibling around the house, but Freeman knows they’ll be good friends soon enough. She never expected she’d gain another family member while visiting the park the other day, but now that the kitten has settled in, she wouldn’t want it any other way.
“It honestly just felt like fate,” Freeman said.