A central Alberta man is crediting Facebook for helping him find a good home for two kittens allegedly tossed from a vehicle onto a deserted highway.
Rodney Day said he saw the disturbing incident unfold as he drove near Millet, Alta., at around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Day had just met with his wife, who works in the town, and was driving to the bank in Wetaskiwin when he told Global News he saw a driver that was pulled over to the side of the road toss something out the window of her truck before speeding away.
“I was like ‘oh no, she’s throwing out garbage’ but as I got closer I realized the garbage was moving.”
Day said he hit his brakes when he realized kittens had been tossed from the vehicle. He tried to get a look at the driver.
“She hid her face as best she could when she passed me by,” he said.
Day followed the vehicle, hoping his dashcam would capture video of her licence plate. He described the vehicle as an older two-tone blue Dodge truck and said the driver was a blond woman in her 30s.
While he followed the vehicle, Day called his wife and told her where the kittens were so she could go rescue them.
“She went and grabbed the kittens and I kept following this lady.”
Day said the woman started travelling at speeds too high for him to safely follow, so instead, he headed to the Wetaskiwin RCMP detachment to report the incident, although he wasn’t able to get footage of her licence plate.
Day’s wife, meanwhile, took the kittens to her work where she began calling area kennels and veterinarians to see if anyone would take them.
“She was unsuccessful,” Day said.
Day then took to social media to share his experience, posting photos of the vehicle captured on his dashcam to the “Wetaskiwin & Area Rant & Crime” Facebook page.
He posted the photos at around 5 p.m., and as of noon on Thursday, it had been shared over 8,000 times.
Immediately upon posting, Day said he began receiving friend requests from people concerned about the kittens.
“One lady, in particular, she said ‘I’m looking for kittens for my daughter. I was going to go buy kittens, but I would really like to rescue these ones.”
After speaking with the woman, Day and his wife met her and her daughter in Gwynne, Alta.
“My wife and I, with the help of Facebook, found a good home for the kittens and a very happy 10-year-old girl,” he said.
“It was very heartwarming.”
Day said people who allege they know the driver’s identity have reached out to him. He has since given that information to the Alberta SPCA, who confirmed to Global News they are investigating the incident and are in the process of speaking with witnesses.
Day, meanwhile, said he was blown away by the outpouring of positive messages he received after posting the photos to Facebook.
“I got so many private messages and messages from people saying ‘thank you, you’re a hero.’”
Day said he doesn’t believe he and his wife are heroes, joking they just “used common sense.”