A man called Robert received an unexpected call earlier this month that shocked him: his favorite cat, Chebon, was alive.
Chebon had gone missing right before they were set to relocate from California to Ohio, and it had been seven years since Robert had seen him. Robert, who requested anonymity, delayed his departure to stay and hunt for his beloved pet, but after a year of no luck and no clues, he had no choice but to go on.
“I remember begging and saying to God, ‘God, I’ll do anything, just get my Chebon back,’” Robert said in a video shared on the Ventura County Animal Services Facebook page.
Then the unthinkable happened. A kind woman noticed a sickly-looking cat on the side of the road and took him to a nearby veterinarian. The cat was unexpectedly healthy, despite being dehydrated and filthy from life on the streets. Robert’s name showed up when they scanned him for a microchip. In addition, they learned that the cat was 19 years old.
“I was scared there was a blunder,” Robert explained.
Robert immediately booked a trip to Los Angeles and drove up to the Camarillo Animal Shelter. His eyes softened when they carried him into a secluded room and opened a cardboard box.
It seemed as if no time had gone when Robert and Chebon met each other for the first time in seven years. There wasn’t a single dry eye in the house.
Randy Friedman, marketing manager for Ventura County Animal Services, told The Dodo, “Everyone in that room — there was another animal control officer and she was sobbing, and I was tearing up.” “It was incredible from start to finish — and it was all because of a microchip.”
You can see the touching reunion here:
Chebon crawled out of the box and wrapped his paws over his father’s shoulder as if he had finally realized he was secure.
“[Chebon] held him at one point, and Robert just began crying,” Friedman added. “You don’t see that very often in cats… It was simply heartfelt.”
Chebon can now relax and enjoy his golden years now that he’s back home, where he belongs. And they’ll never let go of each other again.
