“I knew if I didn’t turn around and check, I wouldn’t stop thinking about it all day.”
Jennifer Pond drives along Dowdy Ferry Road in Dallas, Texas, almost every day on her way to work as a high school teacher. But because she is also the founder of Pond of Love, a nonprofit animal rescue, she has learned to pay close attention whenever she passes through that area.
The road is sadly known as a place where people abandon animals, and over the years, Pond has found many dogs and cats there in need of help.
Recently, while driving that familiar route, she noticed an overturned wooden crate on the side of the road. At first, she continued driving. But something about it bothered her. She knew that if she didn’t go back and check, she would worry about it all day.
So she turned around.
When Pond pulled over and walked toward the crate, she spotted a tiny kitten lying in the grass. She picked up the baby, then moved closer to the box. Taking a deep breath, she flipped it over.
Four more tiny kittens tumbled out.
Pond immediately gathered all five babies and rushed home, putting her workday plans on hold. She was running late, but the kittens needed help right away.
After checking them over, Pond found that they were in fairly good condition. She believed they had probably been abandoned earlier that morning, likely thrown from someone’s car. The kittens were only about 10 days old, and one of them had not even opened his eyes yet.
At that age, kittens are extremely fragile. They need to be bottle-fed every few hours, kept warm and helped to go to the bathroom. Without fast care, they would not have survived for long.
Pond worked with other animal rescuers to make sure the babies received round-the-clock attention. When she had to go to work, trusted rescue friends helped care for them. Day by day, the kittens grew stronger.
Over the next two months, the fragile newborns turned into playful, affectionate kittens, each with a personality of their own.
Pond gave them bread-inspired names: Brioche, Pita, Rye, Matzo and Pumpernickel.
New Life Cat Rescue took in four of the kittens and placed them in foster care, where they will stay until they are ready for permanent homes.
But one kitten had already found his family. Pond adopted Pumpernickel herself. After everything they had been through together, she felt too bonded to let him go.
What started as a troubling sight on the side of the road became a life-saving rescue — all because Pond listened to her instincts and turned the car around.