A giant bull named Howdy Doody was spotted riding shotgun in a car down a highway in Nebraska this week in a viral incident that turned heads nationwide and prompted a written warning from police.

Lee Meyer was driving his modified Ford Crown Victoria sedan with his Watusi bull in the passenger seat early Wednesday, the Associated Press reported, when authorities got a call about the pair. Police in Norfolk, Nebraska, told News Channel Nebraska that they received a 911 report about a cow - thinking it would be a calf, "something small or something that would actually fit inside a vehicle." It wasn't until officers saw it in person that they realized how large it really was. 

WATCH: Shocking video shows a giant bull riding shotgun down a highway in Nebraska, before the driver of the car was pulled over and given a warning by authorities. pic.twitter.com/0IbQMGrXsB

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The news station captured video of the officers performing the traffic stop – and Meyer's enormous horned co-pilot. 

"The officer wrote him some warnings," Norfolk police captain Chad Reiman told the outlet. "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." 

Meyer and Howdy Doody later returned to their hometown of Neligh, which is nearly 40 miles away from Norfolk. It wasn't clear why they made the drive. 

Meyer's wife Rhonda told News Channel Nebraska that her husband got the bull eight or nine years ago and it has been his "friend and buddy" ever since. Despite getting pulled over, she said her husband has been fine and he thinks "he's a movie star." 

It's not the first time Meyer traveled with his big bull. Howdy Doody was seen making a stop at a July 4th parade in 2019, Antelope County News reported. 

Christopher Brito

Christopher Brito is a social media manager and trending content writer for CBS News.