Once upon a time, a kind family in the United Kingdom rescued the most adorable, sweet stray cat named Brick. It was love at first sight for Brick and his new family. Four years later, when the family relocated across the Atlantic to Calgary, Brick obviously came with them. His family did everything right: they registered him, loved him and built a beautiful life together in their new home. But life can change in a second. After moving to a newer community, Brick accidentally broke through a window screen and escaped during a heatwave.
Brick searched for his family in his new community. And his family, well, they searched and searched for him. They put up posters, posted in Facebook groups, searched their community, and talked to people—the whole works—but for some reason, they couldn’t find him. It was like Brick had just vanished. Brick hadn’t, though; he kept looking for his way home and eventually wandered two communities east, keeping the secrets of his six-year journey entirely to himself.
When a kind citizen found him and brought him into MEOW Foundation’s care, our team immediately scanned him for a microchip. We found a chip, but because it was registered abroad, our scanners couldn’t read the details. We named him Heatwave, showered him with love, and ensured he was ready for adoption.
Brick story could have easily been like any other second chance story where he ended up in a new loving home, but fate and, more importantly, the person who rescued him refused to give up on finding his people. So, she combed through years and years of lost-and-found pet Facebook pages in Calgary until she hit the ultimate jackpot: a missing cat post from over six years ago featuring a cat that looked identical to Heatwave. She immediately messaged the owner, who reached out to MEOW in disbelief and shared the incredible tale of her long-lost boy.
Our team quickly arranged a time for the family to come in, hoping that Brick would recognize his people. When the family came to see if they had finally found their Brick, it wasn’t a loud, happily-ever-after Disney moment; it was quieter, with the realization that after six years of searching, it was finally coming to an end. Looking at Brick’s beautiful green eyes and striking face, there was no denying that this cat was their long-lost boy.
Brick’s owner quickly stepped out of the room to call her husband and inform him that they had finally found their sweet boy. On the other end of the line, hearing that their long-lost cat had actually been found safe and healthy, he said just four simple words: “Bring our boy home.”
And so, after 2,190 days apart, Brick and his family are finally found their way back to each other to live happily-ever-after!
