Police officer's sweet gesture for distressed sheep during heatwave

A kind gesture for an injured animal struggling in the heat is melting hearts online.

The sheep, said to have a sore leg, was struggling to walk in scorching temperatures in Bourke, a town in northwest NSW, but fortunately police spotted it and came to her rescue.

Police had been carrying out a search warrant in relation to stolen stock and had been mustering a mob of sheep last Wednesday, when they came across the injured ewe, Acting Inspector Gavin Smith told Yahoo7.

The animal had fallen behind the mob and took shelter under a tree.

“That’s when police have picked up the ewe and stuck it in a nice air conditioned police vehicle,” Acting Inspector Gavin Smith said.

“The sheep actually remained in the police vehicle for about 45 minutes to cool down while the rest of the muster took place in about 43 degree heat.”

The sheep seems grateful to be in the car with Leading Senior Constable Travis Pocock, with a selfie of the pair showing the animal appearing very comfortable and nestling her head on the officer’s shoulder.

“She was sleeping on the policeman’s lap for a short while as well, so she certainly enjoyed it,” Acting Inspector Gavin Smith said.

According to the post on Facebook the ewe was buckled in and the senior constable took her to a holding pen.

More than 21,000 people have reacted to the picture of the pair in 18 hours, with many saying the officer was a “legend” and a “kind human”.

Numerous online users also acknowledged how relaxed the sheep looks after being removed from the heat.

“Look at this lil sheep’s face,” one person wrote, while another added it “actually looks happy”

“The affection and appreciation the sheep is showing the officer is incredible,” a third Facebook commented.

“Good on him. I’ve done this too. The result. A smelly car. But who cares. That’s easy fixed,” said another.

And the officer is not the only one helping animals struggling in scorching temperatures this month.

A woman shared her pictures and video of her attempt to help a koala, she has affectionately named Caramello, who seemed grateful for some water.

“Caramello Koala has been in a Peppercorn Tree for a few days,” Eve Webb wrote on the Facebook page One Day Closer to Rain (Drought) on Thursday.

“After a drink I relocated him to the gum tree where I first saw him,” she wrote.

Earlier this week she posted another video of the koala drinking, explaining there had been no rain in Narrandera, in the Riverina region, and that he had been around for a couple of weeks already.

Taronga Zoo has also shared images of animals keeping cool in the extreme weather.

Yahoo7 has attempted to reach out to Ms Webb for more information about the marsupial.