A Florida man was reunited with his cat after he lost him 14 years ago during a hurricane. The two clearly missed each other; they spend all day cuddling together!
A Florida man was recently reunited with his cat after 14 years apart. The man and his cat are beyond happy to be back together and spend all day cuddling. Their story illustrates why it is so important to microchip your pets. One of pet owners' worst fears is losing their beloved companion. One Florida man, Perry Martin, had to suffer this traumatizing ordeal when his beloved cat got lost during the commotion of Hurricane Jeanne in 2004. Thomas II, or T-2 for short, got spooked during the hurricane and ran out a side door. His owner tried to catch him, but it was too late. [caption id="attachment_7947" align="aligncenter" width="572"]
Courtesy of The Dodo[/caption]
Martin was devastated by the loss of his companion and spent hours looking for him. He even enlisted his neighbors' help and filed a missing cat report with his local shelter but had no luck. Even though Martin moved several times after losing T-2, he still made sure to update T-2's microchip information with his new address. He never lost hope or moved on from the idea of being someday reunited with his cat.
A full 14 years after T-2 ran away, he was found wandering outside as a stray and brought to the Humane Society of Treasure Coast. The Humane Society scanned T-2's microchip and found Martin's up-to-date information. The Humane Society called Martin and asked him what he would say if they told him they had T-2. Martin told the caller they were crazy. But sure enough it was T-2!
Martin was still in disbelief but drove to the Humane Society to see for himself. He knew it was really T-2 the second they were reunited, and T-2 recognized Martin, too: He immediately perked up when he saw his dad. The two are now back to living together, and Martin says his old friend does not leave his side. T-2 spends all his time either on his dad's lap or following him around the house. At 18 years old, T-2 gets to live out his senior years relaxing with his best friend! Although it is believed the cat was living on the streets for a long time, he is in relatively good health -- besides being underweight.
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Courtesy of Humane Society of Treasure Coast[/caption]
Martin is urging pet owners to microchip their pets to help facilitate other reunions such as his. Currently it is estimated that less than two percent of lost cats are reunited with their owners. Without a microchip, there are very few options for identifying the owner of a lost pet. Even collars can fall off a pet or, even worse, pose as a choking hazard if the collar gets caught on something.
Microchipping a cat is a simple and effective method for ensuring your cat can be traced back to you. A microchip is put into your cat through a simple needle prick that hurts the pet as much as a shot would. The potential for short-term pain, however, is worth a lifetime of security. A microchip procedure costs around $50, and many animals adopted from a shelter or rescue come already microchipped! If your pet gets lost after being microchipped and is brought into a veterinarian's office, shelter, or rescue group, they can scan the pet, and if the pet is microchipped, the group will receive the owner's information to contact them.
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Courtesy of ALIKC[/caption]
After microchipping your pet, it's important to keep the information on file up-to-date so you can be contacted if your pet is found. T-2's story shows how important this is, for sure! Martin is certainly happy he microchipped T-2 and was able to be reunited with his cat.
What do you think? Are you tearing up like we are? We'd love for you to leave your microchip miracle story in the comments below!
***This article was originally written for Our Community Now -- Maryland, by Brianna Grant.
