Dallas — A Seattle couple visiting Dallas is heading home with more than they expected, after finding a kitten under the hood of their car while driving along I-635.
The couple, Andrew and Christine Steelsmith, were recently in Dallas for a little over a week to attend a wedding.
On Wednesday they were driving on I-635 near the Dallas North Tollway when they heard howls coming from the vents of their car.
The Steelsmiths were on their way to Salt Lake City to visit family before driving on back to Seattle.
“All of a sudden we just heard screaming,” Christine Steelsmith said. “I asked Andrew, ‘is that a cat?’”
The couple started filming the entire ordeal and pulled onto a service road adjacent to 635.
“There was no way to get to him,” Andrew said. “He was so far back in the engine.”
Dallas Fire Rescue responded to the scene, but couldn’t reach the little guy.
So, the Steelsmiths searched for the nearest dealership—hoping that mechanics could have better luck.
The couple got behind the wheel and were escorted by a DFR engine to nearby Clay Cooley Chevrolet Galleria.
“They just cleared traffic for us, because they knew we were driving as slow as possible,” Andrew said.
Once there, mechanics got to work.
Rodger Kuhl, a mechanic with the dealership, said it wasn’t the first time he’s had to take a car apart because of an animal.
“This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen a tail hanging out of the bottom of a car,” Kuhl said.
In the video, you see Kuhl and other mechanics dismantling the car. Kuhl eventually disappears under the car, and then it raises to see that he coaxed the kitten into his arms. Other than a few scratches and a possible broken tail, it’s unscathed
“Everything happened to work out for the best that day,” Kuhl said.
And the happy ending for this story gets better. The Steelsmiths adopted the kitten and named it “Dallas Chevy” or DC for short.
“Dallas because it was born in Dallas and Chevy because of the guys at the dealership,” Christine said.
DC is now back in the Steelsmiths car, but now they’re heading north. And this time he’s a little less terrified, and in the arms of a new family.
“He chose us. There’s a reason he got into our car. He adopted us,” Christine said.
If you’d like to help the Steelsmiths pay for DC’s vet bills they’ve set up a GoFundMe page.
