2020 has to go down as among the worst years in living memory. Barely a day seems to go by when we aren’t treated to more news of gloom and doom on an epic scale. But look hard enough, and it’s not too hard to find a story that will brighten your day and lift some of that misery. Take the story of Tellus, a very lucky feline who, after managing to get lost for almost 4 months, made it back to her very grateful owners just in time for the holidays.
How It All Began
Alicia and Chris Knowles are a married couple from Maine. Back in September, the family was temporarily renting out an Airbnb property in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, while they searched for a new home. Rather than leave the rest of the family back in Maine while they house hunted, they’d decided to bring them along for the ride. After all, what would a house-hunting trip be without some furry company? Yep, Alicia and Chris’s ‘family’ is of the feline sort, extending to two cats named Tellus and Nikka. As news10.com reports, they also have two children aged 3 and 9, but hey… who wants to hear about kids when there’s a cat around?
All was going well until, one day, the two cats managed to escape the Airbnb rental. Nikka managed to make it back safely. Tellus didn’t. The family was distraught. They combed the area, trying to find any trace of their missing cat. But neither head nor tail of the missing Tellus was spotted. Desperate to be reunited with their lost pet, they posted her picture to various lost pet Facebook paces, including Missing Pets of Berkshire County. But, nothing. The family was forced to return home, minus one cat and a very big chunk of their hearts.
Light at the End of the Tunnel
Back home, the Knowles’ continued to scour the pages of rescue centers in the hope Tellus would be found. For months, they heard nothing. They were all but on the verge of giving up hope of ever seeing their missing fur ball again. But then suddenly, lightning struck. Or rather, a resident of Pittsfield posted a message on Facebook saying he’d found a cat that looked awfully similar to Tellus living under his house. Chris and Alicia responded to the post straight away. But no answer came. Determined not to let the lead go cold, they drove all the way to Pittsfield and began knocking on doors, hoping that someone would be able to direct them to the mysterious Facebook messenger’s whereabouts. Finally, they found him. But not Tellus. According to the man who’d discovered the cat, he’d already taken Tellus to the Berkshire Humane Society after believing her to be a stray.
Reunited at Last
After hearing that Tellus had been handed into the Berkshire Humane Society, Chris and Alicia headed straight there. Unfortunately, the center had already closed for the day. After calling around, Chris finally managed to reach a member of staff. Just a few hours later, the couple was finally reunited with their beloved cat. By that point, she’d been missing for almost 4 months. “If there’s ever a story to show that you should never stop looking for a lost pet, this is it!” Berkshire Humane Society manager Erin Starsja tells iberkshires.com.
In the event, Tellus only stayed at the Berkshire Humane Society for one night. Just what she’d been doing for the rest of the four months, Chris and Alicia can only speculate. Tellus was formerly a barn cat and has continued to love the outdoors ever since becoming a member of the Knowles family four years ago. But even by her standards, 4 months was a long time for an adventure. But worries about what their little friend had been getting up to aside, the Knowles’ couldn’t be more delighted to be reunited with their missing chum. Chris and Alicia resisted telling their children the happy news until they were 100% confident that Tellus had been found. As soon as they were, they spilled the beans. The kids were thrilled – as was their other cat, Nikka, who had been feeling more than a little sorry for herself since losing her playmate.
Happily Ever After
When Chis and Alicia turned up at the Berkshire Humane Society to collect Tellus, the little cat jumped straight into her cat carrier, something that according to the couple, she’d never once done in the past. Clearly, she was just as excited to be heading home as the couple was to be taking her. The Knowles’ are still in shock at how quickly they were able to get Tellus home after seeing the message about her on Facebook. “It was really great how quickly we were able to go from seeing her picture,” Chris tell rochesterfirst.com, “and pretty much 24 hours later we have her here at home now.”
The reunion couldn’t have happened at a better time. Until only a few weeks ago, the Knowles’ were facing their first Christmas in four years without their beloved pet. But thanks to the compassion of one Pittsfield resident in particular (not to mention the help and support of the Berkshire Humane Society), Christmas 2020 was an even more joyous occasion for the Knowles’ than usual. Not only did they celebrate the holidays in their first home in the Berkshires (yep, they ended up finding the perfect family home during that house hunting trip and completed their relocation from Maine shortly after), they celebrated it with the whole family, cats included.
Perseverance Pays
Cats are wont to roam, and sometimes, that roaming takes them much too far for comfort. While many cats return from their outdoor adventures none the worse for the experience (and often, almost before their family have even noticed they’ve gone), some don’t. The pain of a missing pet, as the Knowles family would all to readily testify, can’t be underestimated. But not all stories end on a bitter note.
The Knowles family never gave up on Tellus. For almost 4 months, they raked through ‘Found Cat’ posts on social media, reached out to animal rescue centers, and did everything in their power to find their lost cat. And when the first piece of good news came, they knocked on almost every door in town until Tellus was finally back in their arms where he belonged. Perseverance really does pay off. Thanks to their constant efforts and their refusal to give up, the Knowles’ got the happy ending they deserved. As, indeed, did Tellus.
