Truck Driver Gets Overwhelmed And Starts Crying When He Gets Reunited With His Cat After Months Of Search
Mathew B. and his cat Ashes had built a life on the road, and losing him at a truck stop in Ohio turned that routine into a months-long search. The 3-year-old gray cat had traveled across the country in Mathew's 18-wheeler, so when he slipped away in Springfield, the bond between them suddenly mattered more than ever.
Mathew kept changing his routes so he could return to the same place and look for Ashes again. Then, hundreds of miles away, another traveler spotted a skinny cat at the same stop and made a choice that changed everything.
What happened next turned a heartbreaking loss into a reunion neither of them expected.
Since then, he rearranged several of his routes so he could return to the same spot where he lost Ashes. He hoped that he would find Ashes if he was persistent enough.
Sometime earlier this month, the same stop was visited by Kimberly T. and her friend while they were traveling to New York. While they were heading to their car, they noticed a skinny, hungry cat that was seeking attention.
"He was trying not to put his feet down on the ground; it was so cold," Kimberly remembers.
No one was claiming the cat, so she brought him to her car to warm him up. It was not hard to see that he had been on the streets for quite some time. He needed to be taken to a veterinarian and receive a lot of care.
Kimberly knew a place that could take good care of the little guy, but it was located at the end of her journey, in New York, so she decided to take him with her.
She took him to Lollypop Farm, an animal welfare association in Fairport, New York. "What Kimberly didn't know was that this cat was not any ordinary cat - but a seasoned traveler himself," Lollypop Farm shared with the reporters.
"Our Admissions Team immediately scanned for a microchip, as they do with all incoming pets. Not only did he have one, but he had an owner who had registered him under a Texas address that was over 1,465 miles away! This was one cross-country kitty."
It’s the same kind of panic as the stray cat that got yanked by a car engine’s tight grip.
It turns out they found Ashes, Mathew's lost cat. They dialed the number from the registration, and at the other end of the line was Mathew, who was in Arkansas at the time. Needless to say, he was in total disbelief.
"I had been thinking about Ashes every day," he told the staff at Lollypop Farm.
He rearranged his driving schedule and started his journey to New York immediately. While he was on the road, Ashes received much-needed medical attention and gained some weight back.
About ten days after Ashes arrived, Mathew's truck pulled up in front of the safe house.
The cat recognized his human friend right away and went to him. "Ashes knew him and was immediately affectionate," the shelter says.
Mathew started to cry as he gently pressed his head against Ashes'.
"It's my Christmas miracle," he said.
"It's that microchip - without it, I wouldn't have ever gotten him back. The woman who found him saved his life, but the microchip brought him home."
Besides the shelter team, two more people witnessed this event. Kimberly and her friend were so moved by this heartwarming reunion. They also fell in love with Ashes during their ride to New York and were so happy to see him get back where he belongs.
"Ashes and Mathew had a close relationship before he was lost, and Mathew says now it's even closer. Ashes just seems so happy to be back with him and is acting more loving than ever before," Lollypop Farm says.
"We couldn't be happier for this adventurous cat to be back on the right track."
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Before Ashes made it home, see how Captain Jack was rescued from a sailboat after his owner died.
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