Thanks to a special microchip, long-lost Oscar came home to his family.
The shelter-adopted domestic short-hair cat, with black-and-white tuxedo-like fur features, disappeared three years ago from his Auburn home.
“We let him go out during the day, but he always comes home at night,” said Sherrie Fox, who lives with her husband, Greg, on Lea Hill. “He always came home. … He always heard the can opener for dinner. So when he didn’t come home one night, we figured he must have prowled out longer than he does.”
Oscar never returned. Fox feared the worst.
For months, a determined Fox visited the King County Pet Adoption Center in Kent almost daily looking for him. There was some hope. A microchip had been inserted in Oscar five years ago when the Fox family adopted him.
That microchip ultimately led to a reunion last Thursday. The Regional Animal Services of King County made it possible.
King County Animal Services Officer Pam McLaren found Oscar in SeaTac last Thursday. The stray cat landed at the shelter, after hanging out near a house in SeaTac, about nine miles from Auburn. McLaren scanned Oscar to see if he had a microchip. He did, and McLaren was able to obtain the owners’ contact information.
McLaren was surprised to discover that the cat was one that had been reported missing back in 2008.
“I was absolutely astonished to find Oscar,” McLaren said. “We knew Sherrie well because she came into the Pet Adoption Center dozens of times looking for her cat. We even called her when we found similar cats in the past, but none of them were Oscar.
“When we called Sherrie to tell her that we found Oscar, she was so excited.”
Fox was stunned when she realized the microchip led to the recovery.
“When we got the call from McLaren, I almost couldn’t believe it,” Fox said. “I looked at a picture of Oscar that we’ve kept on our mantle and just cried. I can’t thank the staff of Regional Animal Services enough for bringing Oscar home.”
Such reunions are rare. On average, only 2 percent of lost cats are ever reunited with their owners, says Glynis Frederiksen, operations manager for Regional Animal Services of King County.
“So we’re glad that this story has a happy ending,” Frederiksen said. “It’s also a great example of why we encourage owners to license and microchip their pets, and why we license and microchip every pet adopted from our center.”
The Fox family intends to microchip their other adopted cat, 9-year-old Prissy.
More success stories like Oscar’s could be coming in the near future, Frederiksen added.
“We’re very excited about our new ‘Project Reunite: Help and Hope for Lost Pets’ program,” she said. “Volunteers are being trained now to help reconnect lost pets with their families, and we can always use more eyes and ears on the street to help find wayward pets like Oscar.”
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To volunteer for Regional Animal Services of King County, contact volunteer manager Sarah Luthens at sarah.luthens@kingcounty.gov or 206-296-3946.
