A cop can only be as effective as their partner and this cop sure has a great one, in the form of a tiny kitten.

In May of 2016, Officer Cody Garrett was out doing his normal patrol in South Carolina when he got a life changing call. He heard that some fellow officers were trying to rescue a kitten from a dumpster.

Based on Garrett’s abundance of cat videos, it’s no surprise he immediately headed to the scene.

The officers, thankfully, got there just in time as a flash flood swept in. It would have ended this poor kitten’s life.

Since Garrett is a cat lover himself and no one else wanted the kitten, Garrett decided to bring the the cutie home to his other fur-babies.

“I don’t know why they didn’t want it but I offered to take it,” Garrett said in an interview with BuzzFeed News.

The timing was impeccable as his own cat, Toothless, already had kittens at home and was still nursing.

“Toothless has taken her as one of her own,” the cop told HuffPost.

After sharing the photo of the newly named Squirt in the squad car, Garrett and his kitten partner went viral.

How did Garrett arrive at the name of Squirt? Glad you asked.

Right after bringing Squirt home, she used Garrett as a litter box.

Whoops!

While Squirt loves being a crime fighting kitty and helping her new Dad and partner, Squirt would much rather hang out with the other rescued animals at home.

Garrett seems to have a tendency to bring home unwanted and unloved animals and find them great homes. He frequently picks up abused dogs and cats and finds them good, loving homes.

While Garrett has since left the police force, he does have high hopes this story will help alter the perspective the general public has about cops.

“Police officers aren’t the enemy,” he told HuffPost. “We have families, we like rescuing animals and playing video games. We’re not just out doing the crazy stuff people see on the news.”

While Garrett is doing his part to save the animals in South Carolina, it is imperative to get more animals off the streets so they don’t suffer a fate like Squirt could have with that flash flood.

According to the ASPCA, 3.2 million cats come into the shelter each year and almost a million are euthanized due to a lack of cat adoptions.

Garrett works on his own to find homes for the dogs and cats he takes in, but the shelters would definitely welcome some more help and adoptees.

Be sure to call your local shelter and see how you can help out those kitties today. Something as simple as a share on Facebook can make all the difference in a cat’s life.

Be sure to check out the video below of what Garrett now comes home to. You’ll be glad you watched it.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: YouTube, Animal Channel, BuzzFeed News, HuffPost, ASPCA, Instagram