Zach Gruneberg, a poker participant from Pennsylvania with greater than $2.2 million in lifetime match earnings, not too long ago misplaced considered one of his cats, who escaped from his home whereas he was out in Las Vegas. What ensured was a frantic search-and-rescue effort that spanned a month and a half.
More particularly, it was a 43-day affair “through hell and back” in response to Gruneberg, a five-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit ring winner, together with back-to-back wins within the WSOP PA Online Series on the finish of July.
Gruneberg, who’s 9 years clear and sober, is on Twitter as @HustlerGrune the place it states he’s each an anime addict and cat dad. One of these cats is a smooth grey feline named “Nook.”
“Nook is the only cat I’ve had since he was a kitten,” Gruneberg instructed PokerInformation. “He is a super friendly high energy guy that loves to jump up into high places and play more so than any of my other cats.”
So, what’s the story behind Nook’s disappearance?
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How It Happened
It all began again on July 1 when Gruneberg was out in Las Vegas for the WSOP Main Event.
“Back home my old roommate was moving out and my new one was moving in,” Gruneberg defined. “I woke up to a text on July 1st saying that when he went to feed the cats – I have three – Nook was nowhere to be found. This launched a city-wide search and a massive campaign to locate him.”
Gruneberg and his camp enlisted the assistance of a bunch known as Pet Recovery of Centre County, in addition to his member of the family Joyce, who’s an knowledgeable animal rescuer.
“We had multiple close calls. One time before I got home, my roommates had him underneath a neighbor’s porch and some random phantom firework went off and made him bolt. We then saw him on our security cameras we set up, basically once every 7-10 days, but he wouldn’t go for traps. We also would leave the front door open but he’d magically show up on the days it wasn’t.”
On July 22, Gruneberg wrote:
I simply went and talked to some neighbors down on Honeysuckle drive and one other girl swore almost 99% that she’s seen Nook down there as not too long ago as a number of days in the past. It’s cat heaven down there and there is many cats so we have to lock down an precise picture of him says the chief of Pet Recovery earlier than we will ramp up attempting to safe him. If you recognize anybody on Honeysuckle please allow them to know! Thank you. Since scripting this one other neighbor has come ahead and mentioned he is seen a brand new gray Cat that matches the picture.
The Capture
One evening, Gruneberg determined he wanted a while out with associates versus staying up till 3 a.m. together with his door open hoping Nook would come home.
“Cats are basically nocturnal so he would show up super late,” he defined. “So, I went out on the town. We set the first trap we had on my front porch and I just went out with my friends. About 11:30 p.m. I got a notification on my phone that there was motion on the one Arlo Security Camera. I proceed to go live on the camera and see him sniffing all over the trap for two minutes. I am just sitting there screaming please go in.”
Gruneberg continued: “He finally goes in but the trap doesn’t trigger. He’s eating the food somehow over the pedal that triggers the trap. I am just losing it and finally the trap closes and he’s secured. Maybe the best feeling I’ve ever experienced!”
Just like that, the 43-day ordeal was over and a poker participant was reunited together with his cat.
Executive Editor U.S.
Executive Editor US, PokerInformation Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
