Fran Hendricks adopted Boxer the cat on Nov. 20 from Second Chance Animal Shelter in Shaftsbury and he somehow escaped on Dec. 18 through a dog door. After losing hope in locating her furry friend, Hendricks assumed Boxer was gone and never coming home.
“I thought he was dead,” Hendricks said. “I felt so bad, it was terrible.”
Boxer was discovered by Oak Bluff’s Animal Control officer Anthony BenDavid who found the cat, took him in and found that he was embedded with a chip. After contacting the microchip company SmartChip, BenDavid was confused because the company had Boxer registered as a dog from Alabama.
This past Monday, Shona Ross, director of shelter operations for Second Chance Animal Shelter, received an email from SmartChip, regarding Boxer. She then reached out to Hendricks to let her know the cat was found!
“I couldn’t believe it. I was stunned! I was like I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy,” Hendricks said. “I had a few Powerball tickets and said this is way better than winning that.”
Ross said that no animal leaves Second Chance without a chip, a practice adopted back in 2013 in an effort to cut down on outdoor cats being mistaken for strays.
“We’ve had a few [cats] that have gone missing and we track them down. All cats and dogs now are microchipped and go through a program,” Ross said. “We offer people a microchip for their cats as well to cut down on the cat overpopulation problem, strays are people’s outdoor cats. We want every cat to go back to its real home.”
Two-year-old Boxer, a quiet good-natured black cat with an injured eye, traveled more than 200 miles including part of the Nantucket Sound. All involved were baffled as to how he made the journey.
“All day Monday in the office we were saying, ‘what the heck, how did he get on an island?'” Ross said, laughing. “If people see this story, whoever picked him up, could fill in the steps of how he got to the island.”
Boxer, back home safely after making his way to Martha’s Vineyard after escaping his home on Dec. 18. (Holly Pelczynski — Bennington Banner)
Boxer got his name from Second Chance because his condo was in the lobby as a greeter where he batted at people who passed him by.
Hendricks hasn’t decided if she is going to change his name, but is working with a combination of Boxer and Big Boy. She also has a small dog she adopted named Little Man and another cat named Charlie who was adopted at the same time Boxer was, also from Second Chance.
Hendricks says she’ll never get another pet without a chip.
Ross said that Boxer’s injured eye is due to his tear duct which adheres to his eyeball and causing it to scar. It doesn’t affect his eyesight, but may have deterred people from adopting him earlier than he was, she said. Hendricks admire’s Boxer’s personality and how well him and Little Man get along together. In the past, she’s owned three dogs and four cats and had moved
from New York City to Readsboro in 1994.
On her way back from Martha’s Vineyard, where she has never visited in the past, Hendricks rolled her vehicle during a snowstorm only five minutes from her home. Little Man, Boxer and Handricks made it out safely, but now Hendricks is without a car.
“I gradually just lost visibility it was snowing so badly,” Hendricks said. “We were almost home.”
Hendricks said that Boxer remained in the carrier unphased and while waiting at the Fire Station, people walking by didn’t even know a cat was inside the crate. She doesn’t plan on getting another pet anytime in the near future, but is grateful she was able to retrieve Boxer.
In an attempt to understand Boxer’s cross-state adventure, Hendricks wishes to speak to her neighbors who may vacation or may have family or friends who vacation at Martha’s Vineyard and might have accidentally brought Boxer along with them around the holidays.