Matthew B is a truck driver from Texas who has a travel companion named Ashes. They have been on the road together for a while as they travel around the country, in the comfort of Mathew’s 18-wheeler semi-truck. She is a three-year-old cat, and Matthew shares a strong bond with her. He even spends his days traveling cross-country with his beloved buddy.
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Unfortunately, a couple of months ago during one such trip, Ashes had accidentally slipped out of the truck as they were passing through Springfield, Ohio. The cat got scared by unfamiliar surroundings and quickly ran off into the bushes. Matthew was frantically devastated and started searching every nook and cranny for his pal. After searching everywhere but to no avail, he had to give up and get back on the road.
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However, he never stopped looking for her. Over the course of two months, he even rearranged his routes so that he could return to the spot where Ashes was last seen. He kept coming back because he always hoped that it would be the day he would find Ashes. Sadly, the cat was nowhere to be found.
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Matthew probably thought that he would never see his cat again. Thankfully, that all changed when a kind passerby named Kimberly spotted Ashes in 13-degree weather months later in the same spot she went missing. “He was trying to not put his feet down on the ground, it was so cold,” Kimberly recalled.
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The woman took Ashes to her car and surrendered him to the animal rescue organization called Lollypop Farm. Luckily, Ashes had a microchip, so Lollipop Farm was able to return Ashes to Matthew after they scanned her microchip. The employees were shocked when they found out that Ashes was 1,465 miles from home.
“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,” said the organization.
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Matthew was thrilled that his beloved feline was safe and sound. He immediately rearranged his driving schedule and drove to New York. He burst into tears when he saw his beloved cat after months of searching.
Ashes immediately recognized his human dad and went right up to him with affectionate head-butts and cuddling. “Ashes knew him, and was immediately affectionate,” the shelter said.
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During the reunion, he held Ashes tightly in a warm embrace and called it his “Christmas miracle”. Mathew said, “It’s my Christmas miracle. It’s that microchip – without it, I wouldn’t have ever gotten him back. The women that found him saved his life, but the microchip brought him home.”
We couldn’t be happier for this adventurous cat to be back on the right track. If you love this story, please share it with your friends and don’t forget to follow Lollypop Farm on their Facebook page to update more wonderful stories!
More info: lollypop.org | Facebook
h/t: Justsomething