News
Published
Oct. 5, 2023, 2:18 a.m. ET
A Lyft driver in Texas allegedly took off with a rider’s cat in a weird incident that went viral on social media and prompted a large search effort that ended with the proprietor and his pet reunited a day later.
Palash Pandey mentioned he observed his 2-year-old cat named Tux gave the impression to be feeling beneath the climate on Saturday so he referred to as a Lyft to deliver her to a vet close to his home in Austin.
But what began off as a traditional vet go to become an unimaginable nightmare earlier than Pandey and Tux may even make it into the animal hospital.
Pandey, 23, mentioned he received out of the Lyft car and went across the again to open the again passenger facet door to select up Tux in her service when the driving force sped away.
“Before I could open the door, the driver started driving,” he wrote in a viral thread on X, previously Twitter. “I banged on the back and passenger windows and screamed running behind him but he drove off.”
The distraught pet proprietor mentioned he referred to as and messaged the driving force by means of the app a number of instances with no response.
The Lyft driver responded about two hours later and mentioned he didn’t have the black and white cat, based on Pandey.
“I don’t have anything of yours. There is nothing in the back,” the driving force texted within the chat, based on screengrabs obtained by the Washington Post. “She isn’t there sorry.”
Pandey referred to as 911 who transferred him to 311 the place he filed a report. He additionally contacted Lyft assist which knowledgeable him that they reached out to the driving force and that there can be a “standard return fee of $20 for [the driver’s] time and effort” if the driving force returned the “item.”
After exhausting all choices, Pandey determined to put up a plea for assist to each X and Reddit. He requested for individuals’s recommendation on what to do and publicly referred to as out Lyft within the posts.
“I didn’t expect that people would want to help, but I was desperate and didn’t know what else to do,” he advised the Washington Post. “I was really worried.”
His tweet was seen greater than 10 million instances and lots of responded with options and calls on Lyft and native information stations to assist Pandey discover Tux.
“They just jumped in to help,” he mentioned, including that it restored his religion in people.
Late Saturday evening, Pandey mentioned the Lyft driver referred to as him after he was contacted by Austin police.
The driver claimed he was allergic to cats and would have canceled the experience if he had recognized Pandey had a cat within the service and mentioned he drove off rapidly as a result of he was startled, based on the distraught cat proprietor.
“My drop-off location was a pet hospital, and I was holding a pet carrier, so it’s hard to figure that one out,” Pandey advised the newspaper.
He mentioned the driving force additionally mentioned he picked up and dropped off a number of riders after Pandey’s journey to the animal hospital and that none mentioned something a few cat.
By Sunday — with nonetheless no phrase on Tux and a rising variety of individuals tuning in for any information — Lyft’s CEO David Risher responded.
“The initial response was awful. Since then, we’ve done a lot behind the scenes, but I know we haven’t communicated enough. We’re very focused on this and will keep the community up to date,” he tweeted.
Risher mentioned Lyft despatched out alerts with Tux’s picture to all its drivers and riders within the Austin space and likewise requested social media to not “vilify” the driving force.
Pandey additionally requested his supporters to not dox the driving force.
“He’s received unwarranted threats and is just as distraught as we all are,” Risher said of the driver, whose Lyft account was deactivated whereas the corporate investigates.
The rideshare firm went an extra step and deployed a search workforce to search for Tux.
On Sunday, one of many workforce members noticed the frightened tuxedo cat hiding beneath a stairwell exterior an actual property firm’s workplace, a few mile from the animal hospital. Her service was nowhere in sight.
They grabbed her and rapidly reunited Tux with Pandey.
“Tux was hungry and scared and covered in fleas, but she was really happy to see me,” Pandey advised the Washington Post. “I was just so grateful, I just hugged her and cried.”
After taking her to the vet, Pandey mentioned she acquired a clear invoice of well being and shared a selfie holding Tux with a thanks to all that helped and adopted alongside. Lyft mentioned it might cowl the vet charges.
“You guys have restored my faith in the community,” he mentioned on X.
Austin police continues to be investigating the case to study precisely what occurred to little Tux.
“We are actively working with all involved to fully understand the situation — to help prevent it from happening again,” Lyft mentioned. “We’re evaluating our policies to improve support for our community, including in cases like this.”
Pandey said he’s happy to have Tux back, but hopes no other pet owners have to go through what he dealt with.
“She’s been with me 2 ½ years — ever since I found her as a kitten,” he said. “She was stuck on a library terrace at Drexel University [in Philadelphia], where I was going to college. I rescued her that day and we’ve been together ever since.”
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