Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Stolen Indiana cats end up in Albuquerque
Published:
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – A special reunion is in the works after a pair of cats stolen more than 1,000 miles away wound up in Albuquerque.
Animal Humane New Mexico says a man surrendered the cats earlier this month. Workers then checked them for a microchip and found that the cats, Leroy and Shya, belonged to the same home all the way in Indiana.
The cat’s owner is now in the process of figuring out how to get them back home to Indiana.
It’s still not known exactly how the cats made the cross country trip.
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2 comments:
Albuquerque, NM – The Underground Railroad Rescued Kitty Network (URRKN) and Animal Humane New Mexico are pleased to announce a partnership to assist two cats in returning to their home nearly 1,500 miles away.
In May 2015, two cats were relinquished as strays at Animal Humane New Mexico. Per their intake policy, they routinely scanned the cats and found that they both had microchips – and surprisingly, were registered to a woman residing in Fishers, Indiana.
“Every year thousands of stray pets come to Animal Humane without microchips,” says Peggy Weigle, executive director of Animal Humane. “This greatly reduces the likelihood that they will be reunited with their loving families.” According to a recent study of animal shelters, only 22 percent of dogs without microchips were returned home, compared to 52 percent with microchips that were reunited with their owners. In addition, the ASPCA reports that only 2% of cats that arrive at shelters are reclaimed, because they seldom wear collars and tags. Because of this, microchips are the best way to reunite cats with their owners.
When the owner learned from Animal Humane that her cats were found, she was thrilled and excited. “I thought about them every day since they went missing,” said Carrie. “My children and I were so worried and heartbroken because we rescued Leroy and Mayah when they were babies and love them dearly.”
But with her cats nearly 1,500 miles away and Carrie scheduled for surgery in June, the task seemed impossible. Carrie didn’t have the means to bring her beloved cats home. Meanwhile in Arizona at the headquarters for Underground Railroad Rescued Kitty Network, director Tina LaBlanc, happened across this story while scanning newswire headlines, and immediately thought, ‘we need to reunite this woman with her kitties.’ So URRKN reached out to Animal Humane and made the offer of a free transport.
Because Carrie was not familiar with the young URRKN transport organization, Animal Humane looked into URRKN credentials and then accepted the generous offer, pleased the cats will be returning to their loving home after nearly 60 days in their care. Once notified, the entire URRKN team jumped on board and began the daunting task of scheduling an American Homecoming for these cats.
On Saturday, July 11 at 8 a.m. the train departs Animal Humane New Mexico in Albuquerque and begins its trek east thru 7 states, 2 time zones and 18 conductors, including an overnight stay with a URRKN member in Oklahoma. The journey arrives in Fishers, IN on Sunday, July 12 at 9:40 pm, where Carrie and her children will hold their cats, not just in their hearts, but in their arms once again. Bystanders and cheerleaders are welcome to join the excitement by following Leroy and Mayah’s journey online at https://www.facebook.com/URRKN
For additional information contact Cindy Hauff, URRKN Public Relations at cindyhauff@bex.net
What a GREAT comment! I would like to repost this as a separate article so that folks would understand the importance of microchipping. Thank you so much for taking the time and sharing this great story!
Lin
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