When cat Arlo went missing, Amy Tapia and her family, who live in Nashville, Tennessee, feared they would never see their beloved pet again, but 55 days later, they were reunited.
Arlo’s journey began when he was rescued as a kitten by Tapia’s daughter. “She named him Arlo because he found his way back to us at that time, and here he found his way back to us,” Tapia said. News week.
On the evening of July 4, Tapia and her family were vacationing in Florida while their two dogs and Arlo were being looked after by a friend. But when the friend decided to go out, she sent her sister to let the dogs out, unaware of the impact it would have. “We didn’t know the sister and we didn’t know her,” Tapia said. “Somehow Arlo came out that night.
As soon as they learned of Arlo’s disappearance, Tapia’s eldest daughter posted on their neighborhood Facebook page, asking for help from the community. “Sightings began immediately and continued for the next 55 days,” Tapia said. But Arlo, being very nervous, escaped any attempt to get caught.
Weeks of emotion followed. “We were hopeful when we saw it, and then a few days would pass and we would be very worried if it was really hot or if we heard other animals in the distance, like coyotes,” Tapia said. Despite the uncertainty, they never gave up hope, thanks in large part to the support of their caring neighbors.
Amy Tapia
With the help of a neighbor who lent them a trap, they set out to bring Arlo home. “We were setting the trap like we always did at night and we encountered it near a storm drain,” Tapia described. The storm drain, located in an area of new townhouses, offered a unique opportunity: There was only one entrance and exit.
Baited with tuna, they covered the area with blankets and checked several times, but without success. But the next morning, when Tapia went to check on the trap before her daughters got ready for school, she found success. “And there he was,” she remembers.
Arlo was found very thin and dehydrated, and his family spent weeks treating him. “Having him home for a month now has left us all feeling complete,” Tapia said.
Now healthy, happy and back where he belongs, Arlo and his family are incredibly happy to be reunited. “He is healthy and happy to be home, and so are we,” the owner said.
