Muscat the cat was found six months after he went missing during the Valley Fire in Middletown. (Middletown Animal Hospital)
MIDDLETOWN, CALIFORNIA – Six months after the Valley Fire ripped through Lake County, a woman has finally been reunited with her cat who went missing. The story is heart-warming enough to offer hope for other pet owners, whose animals have yet to come home.
Nancy, a woman from Middletown, hadn’t seen her cat “Muscat” since evacuations were ordered back in Middletown last September.
“She found her cat missing since the Valley Fire, and we were just so excited,” Teresa Axthelm of the Middletown Animal Hospital said to KCBS in a phone interview.
Axthelm said Nancy spotted Muscat while driving close to her house. She stopped and called the cat, who immediately went to her.
“So I said, at no charge, get Muscat in here, get him examined, get him vaccinated,” Axthelm recalled.
The services were courtesy of a fire fund which was set up to help victims of the fire.
“She was very excited to have him back,” Axthelm said. “So many people are still looking for their pets, we have a bulletin board here, you know. Missing pets, dogs and cats. To give anybody some hope, it’s obviously a great thing.”
The Valley Fire killed a total of four people and burned more than 76,000 acres last September. It was one of the worst wildfires in California history.
Another happy ending!
