Duchess was found and turned over to animal management in Victoria after an sudden journey
A stowaway found onboard a gravel barge in Victoria has been safely returned to her home in Sechelt after an extended journey.
Victoria Animal Control Services obtained a name Jan. 24 after somebody discovered a cat on a barge within the Rock Bay space. The barge had departed from Surrey, stopped in Sechelt and continued to Vancouver Island carrying mixture — and an sudden feline passenger — onboard.
When the cat arrived on the pound, employees scanned for a microchip and appeared for an ID tattoo ID and collar, however discovered none. The file famous she was skinny and soiled, although employees mentioned she was a handsome cat.
The organization turned to social media, hoping somebody would acknowledge the cat, a tabby with inexperienced eyes.
Senior animal management officer Ian Fraser mentioned they initially didn’t know whether or not the cat was native or had come on the barge.
“Those kind of weird things do happen from time to time,” he mentioned.
Kate-Lynn Dixon doesn’t use Facebook, however one in every of her buddies acknowledged the cat, which belongs to Dixon’s son Elias Joe.
“She sent me the screenshot of the photo, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Duchess,’ ” Dixon mentioned.
Dixon describes Duchess, an indoor-outdoor cat that “comes and goes as she pleases,” as “a handful.”
The household’s home is a two-minute walk from the gravel conveyor belt in Sechelt. Dixon’s idea is that Duchess was chased by a coyote, jumped on the belt after which simply saved exploring.
Dixon contacted Victoria Animal Control the identical day the cat was discovered.
It took a number of days of sending pictures forwards and backwards to substantiate the stowaway cat actually was Duchess.
In her scared state, her fur was overrated round her often pointy face, and he or she was skinnier than regular. Duchess has two small kinks on the finish of her tail, which had been used to confirm her id.
On Jan. 26, Duchess began her journey home with the assistance of one in every of Dixon’s family members who lives in Victoria. Traffic and ferry delays meant Duchess’s return journey took longer than anticipated, however the household was reunited round 7:45 that night.
“My youngest son came with me and he was super excited,” Dixon mentioned. The feeling seems to have been mutual: “As soon as I took her out, she jumped on Elias’s lap and just hung out with him.”
After settling in again at home — and underneath shut watch — Dixon granted Duchess out of doors privileges on Saturday. This time, the cat got here again the exact same day.
