Most of the time, nobody would consider it their fortunate break to find yourself imprisoned at the bottom of a deep, dark hole in the ground. But for Harvey, a particularly mischievous cat, it could be one of the nicest things that ever happened to him.
Rescuers from Dallas Animal Services, in Texas, were alerted to the orange tabby’s subterranean predicament this week after someone spotted him at the bottom of a 25-foot hole on a construction site.
After an exhausting six hours, the rescuers were able to hoist Harvey out to safety. He was caked with mud, but otherwise in surprisingly good shape.
No one knows exactly how the cat got stuck down in the hole — but soon, a far more puzzling question would surface.
Back at the shelter, Harvey got a much-needed cleaning. Then rescuers checked him for an identification microchip, and fortunately, found one.
Much to their surprise, though, it said the cat hailed from Denver, Colorado — nearly 800 miles away!
“Everyone was pretty shocked!” a shelter spokesperson told The Dodo. “I know the person who originally called his owner even made sure to describe the cat to the owner to clarify because it seemed so crazy.”
Harvey, it would appear, could hardly believe how far he’d come either.
According to the owner, Harvey had disappeared from their Denver home eight months earlier. How he ended up halfway across the country, in Dallas, is a complete mystery.
Needless to say, however, he was very, VERY lost.
Had Harvey not fallen in the hole, he may very well have never been found. But what mattered most was that his owner had the foresight to have him microchipped just in case he ever did go missing.
“It’s an incredible microchip success story. Without it, there’s almost no way we would have tracked down his family,” said the shelter. “We are always thrilled to see such happy stories thanks to a chip!”
An ending Harvey’s rescuers never foresaw when they intervened to assist him climb out of the hole is that his owner is anticipated to fly to Dallas on Sunday to bring up her long-lost cat:
We put a lot of effort into saving Harvey, so we’re glad we were able to arrange such a wonderful reunion.
