Last March, William Voiles was bicycling near New Orleans’ Claiborne Avenue when he spotted a dead opossum alongside the roadway.

Clinging to the dead animal was a tiny baby — or joey — which Voiles said was “no bigger than my thumb.” Voiles took the tiny creature home and bottle-fed it to maturity.

Now, nearly a year later, the opossum — named “Saffron” — is gone, confiscated by New Orleans police in an apparent crackdown on animals in the city’s famed French Quarter, according to multiple New Orleans’ media outlets.

Voiles has been a fixture in the French Quarter, according to NOLA.com, riding his adult tricycle along the streets with a virtual zoo riding along, including dogs, two opossums and a rabbit, although the cast of characters changes.

But on Feb. 10, Voiles was riding along with Saffron when he was stopped by law enforcement officers, who asked him if the opossum belonged to him. Voiles said yes, Saffron was his. The officers informed him it was illegal to own an opossum and confiscated the animal, who was wearing a blue sweater at the time.

An animal control vehicle arrived and Voiles was ordered to place Saffron inside. He asked officers to leave the sweater on Saffron to guard against the cold temperatures that day.

Voiles hasn’t seen Saffron since. He doesn’t even know where his pet has been taken. According to multiple posts on his Facebook page, Voiles was initially told Saffron was taken to an animal control facility in Hammond, but has since learned that was inaccurate.

“It feels like they kidnapped my kid,” Voiles told NOLA.com.

Many have reached out to help, offering guidance on how he might be able to get Saffron back. An online petition has been started entitled “Save Saffron the Opossum” which had already garnered more than 5,700 signatures as of Thursday morning.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, in conjunction with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, said the crackdown on animal in the French Quarter resulted in three pythons — and one opossum — taken from their keepers.

Sometimes, the owners use the animals to solicit money from passersby in exchange for photos with the animals. Voiles, however, said he does not use his pets to solicit money.

He has said Saffron is basically another dog, since Voiles’ dogs were the first creatures the possum saw once he opened his eyes and has been raised with them. Indeed, videos posted by Voiles show Saffron playing and mingling with Voiles’ dogs.

Voiles has posted pleas to his Facebook page, asking people to contact local and state officials in the hopes of ultimately bringing Saffron home.