Picture yourself driving along the freeway. For some of us, this is something we do every day as part of our commute.
As you’re driving along the freeway, how often do you see people throw something out of a moving car window? How often do you go and double check what was thrown out?
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t think twice about what was thrown out. But for one family, their sharp eyes helped save a life.
On February 11, 2017, Erin Brown was driving her 14-year-old son, Gavin Orlowski, who was sitting in the passenger seat, to a birthday party. She took the I-196 highway in Michigan to get there.
As the mother and son were driving behind a white utility van, they saw something thrown out of the van’s window. Gavin heard his mother gasp, and the pair quickly realized the tossed item was a helpless cat.
The cat scrambled along the highway, running around the street, terrified.
Gavin didn’t think twice. “I was just thinking, like, ‘I need to get this cat’,” Gavin told local news.
Gavin exited his mother’s car, turned back and held out his hands, stopping traffic. Then he ran to the abandoned cat’s rescue.
He found the cat hanging over the overpass. According to Gavin, 75 percent of Lucky’s body was hanging over the bridge.
Thankfully, Gavin was able to save Lucky from the overpass and safely return to his mother’s car.
Gavin and his mother looked for the van that tossed out Lucky, but the car was long gone.
“Why wouldn’t you just let a cat go, you know? At least just let him go, not throw him off a bridge,” Gavin said after reflecting on the incident.
A friend told Gavin and his mother that they should take Lucky to BluePearl animal hospital.
The cat curled up in Gavin’s arms, as though he knew that he was finally safe.
Aside from Lucky’s nails being ripped out from trying to grip the asphalt and some soreness on his back from falling onto the highway, Lucky was okay.
As Lucky was being treated, the family was about to turn to God for help with Lucky’s medical expenses – until the hospital’s receptionist walked in.
The receptionist informed Gavin and his mother that one of Erin’s Facebook friends had called the hospital and volunteered to take care of Lucky’s bill.
Talk about luck, indeed.
Gavin’s mother, Erin, saw how attached Gavin was to this cat. Likewise, Lucky was getting attached to Gavin too.
So the family decided to adopt Lucky, giving their dog at home a new sibling.
And why did Gavin settle on the name Lucky?
“I thought of the name Lucky because it is lucky … to not be hit by a car on the highway,” Gavin said.
The incident also taught Gavin and his family a powerful lesson about the existence of pure evil.
But with kind hearts like Gavin out there in the world, evil won’t always win.
As an animal lover, the event further inspired Gavin’s goal of becoming a veterinarian.
PETA also honored Gavin with a Hero to Animals Award through peta2, its youth division.
“Thanks to Gavin Orlowski’s quick thinking, this terrified cat was spared a horrific death on the highway,” said Senior Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “peta2 hopes his kindness and selflessness will inspire other young people to come to the aid of animals need.”
Well done to Gavin and his family for rescuing Lucky!
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