Christmas came early and in the shape of a miracle for Georgia truck driver, Matthew, and his good buddy, Ashes.
A smoky gray cat, Ashes rides with Matthew on his long-haul trips. Together, the pair keeps comfy in Matthew’s eighteen-wheeler, making back and forth trips from their home in Georgia to wherever Matthew’s routes take them.
This past summer, on a stop in Springfield, Ohio, Ashes slipped out of the cab while the truck sat parked at a Love’s Truck Stop. Matthew discovered his cat missing from the truck. He searched everywhere, desperate to find his feline friend.
But, Ashes was gone.
Heartbroken, Matthew had to get back on the road.
He rearranged routes over the next few months, coming back to the Love’s in Springfield. More than anything, he hoped to find Ashes there waiting. But his hopes were dashed with every stop, every search of the surrounding brush turning up nothing.
Five Long Months
Fast forward the season from summer to approaching winter and enter a kind soul named Kimberly.
On a recent move from the west coast back to familiar ground in Rochester, NY, Kimberly pulled into the Love’s in Springfield, OH, for break from the road. Out of the car, she spied a shivering and starving gray cat. The temperature was in the teens that day and she couldn’t leave the scared cat behind in the cold.
The kitty craved attention, making it obvious the gray boy was no stray cat. Kimberly and a friend helping her make the cross-country move hunted for the cat’s family, but to no avail. No one knew anything about the cat.
Not sure what else to do, Kimberly packed the cat onto her lap and continued her drive to New York. Hanging out with the kitty on the long ride, she dubbed him ‘Smokey’ because of his hazy-colored coat. Kimberly arrived in Rochester and took Smokey to Lollypop Farms, the Humane Society of Great Rochester.
Microchip Makes for a Miracle
Upon Smokey’s arrival at Lollypop Farms, he received a once over from staff and they discovered the kitty had been implanted with a microchip. Once scanned, Smokey’s true identity was revealed. The grey cat turned out to be Matthew’s missing Ashes.
In a post on Facebook, staff wrote, “Matthew couldn’t believe it when he got a call saying that his 3-year-old cat Ashes…was safe and sound at Lollypop Farm.”
Stunned, he said, “I had been thinking about Ashes every day.”
Though booked solid with trucking routes, Matthew made quick adjustments and, inside of two weeks, he rolled up at Lollypop Farms.
Matthew and Ashes reunited in an overload of relief and joy.
Matthew credits kind hearts and the microchip for the unexpected holiday miracle.
“It’s that microchip — without it, I wouldn’t have ever gotten him back,” Matthew said. “If you love your pet, you just have to chip them. The woman that found him saved his life, but the microchip brought him home.”
Matthew is right. Microchip technology is a valuable tool in keeping cats safe. As they are sly and swift creatures, cats can slip away in a hurry. Microchips reunite families and mend hearts broken by separation.
Together again thanks to microchip technology, Ashes and Matthew are back on the road.
H/T: WLWT 5
Feature Image: Lollypop Farms/Facebook