Police in Nebraska had a cow when they saw a man driving eastbound on U.S. Route 275 with a hulking Ankole-Watusi bull jutting out of the car.

About 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Norfolk Police Division responded to reports of the car and cattle, presuming no big deal.

“They thought that it was going to be a calf, something small or something that would actually fit inside the vehicle,” Norfolk Police Capt. Chad Reiman told TV station KNEN.

The officers’ assumptions were wrong.

In order to fit the bull in, a portion of the roof, windshield and passenger window of the former Arnold, Nebraska, police car was cut out. A piece of metal fencing akin to those used in cattle enclosures was also attached to help keep the bovine in.

Other accoutrements on the improvised cattle car included a sign on the fencing reading “Best Car Entry,” a license plate reading “Boy & Dog” and a small pair of imitation bull horns on the hood, as captured on video by KNEN.

The driver of the vehicle, Lee Meyer, was written a warning for driving around in his modified car with the bull named Howdy Doody.

“There were some citable issues with that situation. The officer chose to write him a warning and ask him to take the animal back home and leave the city,” Capt. Reiman said.

Capt. Reiman remains puzzled as to why Mr. Meyer decided to drive down Route 275 with Howdy Doody.

“I don’t know why he was doing it that day. … I can honestly say that I haven’t seen anything like that before. It was different, for sure. You’re not going to run across that every day,” Capt. Reiman told People.

Ultimately, the odd pair returned to Mr. Meyer’s hometown of Neligh.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.