They say that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. In this case, the cat took two. Unbelievably, a cat named Shoto traveled more than 2,000 miles from Texas to Massachusetts.
Fortunately, the feline got reunited with its owners after a two-year search for the animal. It's a sort that seems unbelievable. Think of it as a reverse Homeward Bound. You'll probably see it on Netflix in the next few years. The cat disappeared from its Texas home during a frigid January two years ago.
Its owners tried to track down the animal, but they never did. Fast forward two years later, and the animal popped up at the Dakin Humane Society in Springfield, Massachusetts. It had traveled more than 2,000 miles away. The journey had not been kind to Shoto. It was frail and emanciated when someone brought it to the shelter.
The microchip scanner revealed the cat's identity and also its home in Texas. The owners were shocked. Initially, they thought the Masschusetts area code phone number was a scammer. But they quickly realized it was the animal shelter.
Cat Returned Home
"Thankfully, we made contact," the shelter said.
The owners were good champs about their cat. They quickly made plans to drive 26 hours from Texas to Massachussets to pick up their traveler. "No one except for Shoto will ever know how he got to Massachusetts," the shelter said. "That adventure will forever remain his secret."
The shelter said it felt glad to reunite the cat with its loving owners. It also took a moment to celebrate microchips. It encouraged pet owners to get their pets chipped. Otherwise, a reunion like this would not be possible.
"Keeping your microchip contact information up to date is critical in the event the unthinkable happens; your pet goes missing," the shelter notes on its website.
It also advocated for how the technology keeps pet owners and pets together should one escape.
"Microchips are useful pieces of technology," the shelter said. "(They) help keep people and pets together and have been the reason for reuniting countless families."
