As an auto mechanic in El Tigre, Venezuela, Francisco Santella has seen his fair share of cars in need of repair. But he’d never seen anything quite like this before.
A few months back, a customer from a nearby town arrived at Santella’s shop after experiencing some engine trouble. That, however, wasn’t what jumped out to the mechanic first. Looking at the car’s front left headlight, Santella and his colleague realized something was off.
“We noticed something moving inside the headlight assembly, so we went to take a closer look,” Santella told The Dodo. “I was truly astonished.”
Inside the headlight was a little kitten. Without hesitation, Santella began dismantling the assembly to free her.
“The car’s owner had no idea [she was there],” he said.
The kitten, likely a stray from the neighboring town, had apparently crawled under the car for shelter — and somehow squeezed into an opening in the headlight assembly. She then survived the long journey to Santella’s shop.
But now, thanks to the mechanics, she was safe.
“She was in good shape. Perfect condition, actually,” Santella said.
The mechanics cared for the kitten for several days. Eventually, Santella found a family willing to give her a permanent home.
It’s been a few months now since the kitten was rescued, and she couldn’t be happier with her new family.
They named her Paola.
“She’s huge now!” Paola’s new dad told The Dodo, adding that the strange circumstances that led her into their lives feel like a lucky twist of fate, especially for his child:
“She’s the absolute apple of my daughter’s eye.”