I’ve always been a sucker for the offbeat story with no ending. Thus it was foregone I would be hooked at sight of an online newspaper item seeking to reunite a Terrace owner with a cat lost near Wetaskiwin, enticed to follow the trail until the cat came back.
Here’s the online ad that caught my attention :
“Wetaskiwin Car Accident and missing Terrace Cat.
In the Oct. 19th Edition of the Wetaskiwin Times a plea written from a lady in Terrace B.C. named Shelly Andros appeared.
She was explaining that in late September her step-daughter had a car accident and was brought to the Wetaskiwin Hospital. As the car rolled, the family cat escaped through a broken window. Ms. Andros claimed her cell phone number appears on the collar tag.
A few days later, I spotted a picture of a tortoise shell cat having been “found” on the outskirts of town. And would someone please claim the animal, as it was indeed being cared for.
The coincidence was intriguing to say the least and I contacted the number below the picture. The family still have the cat but have other pets as well.
They informed me they could not find a number or name of “Andros” on the collar as specified. But the behavior of the cat is quite identical to that issued in the letter by Ms. Andros.
I have no idea how big Terrace is and wondered if you or some acquaintance might be familiar with the name “Andros”? If you know anything regarding this please contact Patricia Beloin, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, cell phone 1(780) 361-8676.
Patricia would like to write a story on this.”
Who could resist trying to help this cat get back to her owner?
Upon checking the Wetaskiwin Times Advertiser, the original ad said the car had been travelling Highway 2 from Calgary back to Edmonton when it rolled four or five times. Fifteen miles from WalMart, I later learned. The cat was named Prezley.
First I checked the white page Terrace listings in the Telus phone book. But with so many residents forsaking land lines for unlisted cell phones, only one name came even close to that in the ad.
On a chance the name in the ad had been incorrectly spelled (a rarity, but still ...) I phoned.
And instantly gained new respect for salespersons who make cold calls. Had I been the 43rd person to call about this missing cat?
An irate voice told me she was not the person I was seeking, she had lived 30 years with her name and certainly knew who she was, she didn’t have a stepdaughter, and she definitely had no time to read stuff online.
Chastened but undeterred, I googled “Shelly Andros”. Several times. Each time Google offered a revised list of websites to check.
To buffer any nasty reply, I emailed the Google list to Patricia Beloin:
“October 29, 2011
“Hi Patricia,
“Have you found the Shelly Andros you were seeking who lost a tortoise shell cat?
“The Shelly Andros on this Google page lived in Vanderhoof, a small town 300 miles from Terrace, and attended Vanderhoof High School.
“Hope you find (or have found) Shelly. I’d love to see the story you write when you do.”
Today Patricia phoned. She is a feature writer for the Leduc-Wetaskiwin “Pipestone Flyer”. Camera in hand, she had visited the family caring for the rescued cat but even with a magnifying glass she was unable to see an ear tattoo she was expecting to find after speaking with Shelly.
In the meantime, the rescue family would like to keep the cat as she is indeed a loving animal deserving of a good home even if she’s not Prezley.