When a family pet goes missing, most assume the worst-case scenario. In a remarkable moment, a Texas family was reunited with their lost cat after the animal was brought to a shelter as a stray five years later.
The six-year-old cat named Ollie was adopted as a kitten in 2016 and sadly went missing a year later. “His family looked far and wide hoping to see him soon. As years passed, the family moved and faced the hard reality that they may never see Ollie again,” the Humane Society of Harlingen said in a Facebook post.
Animal Control brought the stray to the shelter near the end of November 2022 where they scanned him for a microchip. Luckily, an owner was listed, which is how the shelter was able to reach out to Ollie’s owners. “Our staff scrolled through our records and found that Ollie’s last visit to our shelter was in 2016!” they said.
Ollie’s owner, Stephanie Garza, was contacted and she quickly made her way to the shelter for a long-awaited reunion. The shelter reiterated the importance of microchipping pets so more happy endings can be had.
“A microchip can save your pet’s life and make miracles like Ollie’s possible,” the post said.