Safely Home: Never Give Up!

This is the craziest story ever. Even my friends can’t believe Veronica’s back. Veronica, my black Tuxedo cat, went missing on February 9, 2011. I went door to door with over 300 flyers for three blocks in every direction from my home. I went to the city shelter and the SPCA and filled out missing cat paperwork. I went on the PetLink website to update my stats, check the registration was valid and live and reported Veronica lost. I looked for her every week in one way or another. Each week I would get calls with false alarms that someone thought they found her but each time it was another “Tuxedo” cat. So many cats look just like her and for months I would get phone calls once a week about cats that looked like her but weren’t her. But I never gave up hope. I knew that she was not dead or I would have received a phone call when they scanned her body. My hairdresser recommended a pet psychic who told me ‘I think she’s gone’ but I thought ‘No, she’s not gone’. For an entire six months I never stopped looking for Veronica. Then I got a phone call that I thought was another false sighting. But no, it was PetLink! Someone found a stray and decided to keep her. It’s not unusual for cats to be dumped in Clarksburg, an agricultural area to ‘set them free’, so they figured she was abandoned. She is the most loving, sweet little cat. I can see why someone wanted to keep her. They brought her in to a vet to get her fixed so she wouldn’t have kittens. When the vet scanned the found cat – boom – there was my chip! They called me and I just cried with happiness. I couldn’t stop crying. I knew she was out there and PetLink would get her back to me someday. I brought her home like she was never gone. She was in perfect condition, no fleas, a good weight, as if she’d never left home. I kept her locked up but now she’s back outside again. She was young, only a year and a half when she got lost, just a baby. Now she’s older, calmer and not so eager to go far away. My other feral cat Betty wasn’t as excited to see Veronica as I was. The dog door means they can get out into the yard too. I have two cats, two dogs, two bunnies, two turtles, and two fish and I’ve had them all chipped. I keep telling everyone to get their animals chipped. Why wouldn’t you? Stuff happens and you want your animal back, right? Even if something tragic happens, a chip helps you to find out right away. Animal control can scan the body and call you, so at least I wasn’t wondering. She was found 13 miles away, across the wide Sacramento river and a freeway. I have no idea how she got there and she isn’t telling me about her adventure. I am SO HAPPY to have Veronica home. It’s the best present I ever received. PetLink is JUST what I hoped would reunite us. Thank God I got her chipped!