Never Say Never

Never Say Never

By Maggie Gray

A number of years ago, I opened the sliding door into our backyard, and my son’s beautiful cat Buttons went leaping out the door. My son and I went into full panic mode running after her but before we knew it, she leapt over the concrete wall and off she flew. The panic immediately set in because we lived in Arizona and it was the middle of summer with temperatures soaring over 100 degrees. If the heat wasn’t enough to think about, we often saw and heard coyotes in the area. Buttons was declawed and we knew she didn’t have a chance to survive having never been outdoors.

For the next 48 hours, my son and I drove up and down streets relentlessly calling her name hoping she would miraculously come running up to us. We walked and walked up and down streets hoping she was hiding in a bush for cover and shade. We blamed each other, we blamed the cat, we blamed God, and we both cried. On the third night, we hopped back into the car in the pitch black scouring the adjoining neighborhoods hoping for a miracle but knowing she was forever lost. Utterly gutted, we slowly drove one more street and then out of nowhere, we saw her. She was sitting in the middle of a yard, in total darkness, meowing. My son yelled her name and she came running to my car. He jumped out and she leapt into his arms! There are no words for the emotions we felt that night. Guilt, shame, sadness, anger and despair dissolved with that hug. Let the purring commence.

Arya, a beautiful kitty with piercing green eyes from the City of Hector also got lost. Her owners were visiting the Fairfax Vet Clinic and were unfamiliar with the relocation of the Clinic to the new building. They brought her to visit the Fairfax Vet Clinic and the carrier latch failed. Arya and her brother escaped the carrier in the flash of an eye and her owners could only recapture her brother as Arya bolted in fear and confusion. Her owners then began a four-month gut-wrenching journey of trying to bring her home.

The owners posted photos of her on the Fairfax Facebook Page. This writer, knowing the heartache they were experiencing, reached out to assist them in their pursuit to bring her home. This writer created 75 full-color flyers and contacted the owner to help find local people in Fairfax to hang the flyers throughout the City.

Fairfax, Minnesota a small rural community of retirees, farmers, families and business owners is a quiet little town. People move to small towns for anonymity and that small town atmosphere. Fairfax has disappointed some with shops and businesses closing. Frustrated business owners have shut down and residents have moved away. But with these departures comes new people with dreams and a renewed spirit infused into the town.

Fairfax you need to be so proud of yourself. From the volunteers who started driving the streets looking for this little cat, to the homeowners allowing live traps to be set on their properties, to the people who hung the flyers, to everyone who stepped up to try to bring this little girl home, the owners can never thank you enough.

A reward was offered. Sightings were reported. This writer was up every morning at dawn to check live traps and scour the streets hoping to find Arya. Janet, the owner of the Beauty Boutique, a cat lover and owner, also heartbroken by their loss, found herself immersed in the hunt. At this writing, who knows how many Fairfax residents would find themselves driving around town looking for this little cat hoping for a miracle.

Four long and painful months passed. Freezing temperatures and the hint of winter was settling in. Coyotes, owls, weather, traffic, the list is endless on the things that one considers when you have a lost pet. But never ever did these owners anticipate the unbelievable support and efforts residents of Fairfax would offer for their lost little girl.

They do not live in Fairfax. They do not own a home here. They are visitors. They came here to support the new Vet Clinic and have their cats treated here by our new Vet. Never in their hearts could they have imagined the horror they would face for the next four months. They hoped and gave up hope. They begged the gods for a miracle and cried when no word or sightings occurred.

A few days ago, a woman named Melanie posted a photo on Facebook about a kitty who had now taken residence in her backyard. Janet, the local business owner, called this writer who compared photos and knew it was Arya with those piercing green eyes and distinct markings. She immediately contacted the owners as did Melanie reaching out through the telephone number that had been posted on the missing poster and Facebook post. By 11 pm that same night, Arya’s owner rushed to Fairfax and located Arya in Melanie’s back yard!

Over 120 days had passed since she went missing. Over 120 days of survival, finding food, finding shelter and finding safety had passed. She was declawed. How did she survive? Where did she go? What did she eat? Where did she sleep? How did she stay warm with the subzero temperatures? How did she not get injured or attacked? How did she find her way to Melanie’s home? Where was she hiding? Was she terrified? Was she thinking she would never get home?

Fairfax, you were the answer to all of this. You stepped up and all of you became heroes to this little lost kitty. Melanie who had been feeding her turned down the reward. The owners, so grateful to the City of Fairfax, are now donating the $200 reward to the City of Fairfax Fire Department as a way to say thank you to all of us. The post this writer created on Facebook that thanked everyone reporting she was now home has received almost 100 likes and tons of comments. This writer is astounded at the responses on Facebook. Sometimes the poster will maybe see five to ten likes or comments on our local Fairfax Facebook page. But a lost pet returned to its owner now safe and warm and cuddling with its brother has the City of Fairfax to thank for its life. Arya you will never know the heartache and you will never know the joy we now experience. Welcome home Arya. Welcome home.