After having rescued an elderly man last year, Koko the cat has been assigned as.a chief of police for one day as a collaboration with the Spring national road safety campaign.
A ceremony was hosted and Koko was granted the official certificate certifying her status for one day:
As a police chief, Koko took part in the road safety lesson in the gymnasium at a primary school in Fukuyama city.
Koko even signed in the certificate with her paw.
The owner of Koko told NHK news:
I hope that children walk cautiously around canals and roads where cars are near. Even though Koko was nervous, I would like Koko to help out children if she witnesses an incident as children spend a lot of time outside when they commute to school.
Koko the cat has been honoured by local police for helping lead to the rescue of an elderly man who had fallen into a canal in Toyama, Japan.
She received a pack of pet food from the ward office.
Nitta, Koko’s owner said Koko is shy of strangers. She dodged the police chief’s attempt to stroke her head.
According to NHK News, a 77-year-old woman saw Koko staring into the canal strangely. When she followed the cat’s gaze, she found a man lying on his back in a 60cm-wide, 40-cm-deep canal. The water was about 15 cm deep.
She calls out for help. Five neighbours lift the man out of the canal. He was found to have sustained only scrapes.
Toyama Minami police station also honoured the five neighbours with certificates of commendation.
Satoshi Nakada, chief of the police station, said the “bonds among local residents, including the cat, saved a man’s life.”
