Two deputies in Mendocino County, California, were driving through fog on the Pacific Coast Highway around 1 a.m. April 20 when they came across a sea lion pup.
The 30-inch, 20-pound pup found just south of Fort Bragg was "extremely friendly with the deputies, rubbing against their legs for attention," Mendocino County Sergeant Dustin Lorenzo wrote in a news release.
In late January, the Fort McArthur Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro had treated the pup for an ulcer in its left eye. It was released March 16, according to a different Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, which advised the deputies on how to handle the animal.
The sheriff's office and the Fort McArthur center did not return BuzzFeed News' requests for comment.
A ride in a patrol car has seriously never been this adorable.
Don't worry: The sheriff's office assured everyone there were no handcuffs involved in the pickup, and the deputies safely released the pup in the ocean a quarter-mile away from where they found it.
Swim free, lil' guy.
