Happy Feet Pete, the Nimpo Lake cat that went missing in Williams Lake in January, has been found, says owner Tracey Walker.
Originally, Walker rescued the three-legged cat from the dump in Nimpo Lake and eventually brought him into Williams Lake to be neutered and checked over by a vet.
After the surgery, he escaped from the family’s truck on Jan. 11 and was last seen running up Midnight Drive to the 11th Avenue North Lane.
The family put out a plea for help to media and the BC SPCA Williams Lake Facebook page hoping someone would find him.
On Friday Walker contacted the Tribune to say he’d been found.
“Happy Feet Pete ended up following the trail back to my friends’ place. They were leaving food outside for him. Jamie and Michelle Doherty went above and beyond the duty of friends, working at earning Pete’s trust,” Walker said.
Jamie was able to approach Pete, petting him and even picking him up, but when he attempted to put him in a kennel Pete bolted again.
“It is very difficult to hang on to a skittish, frightened cat.”
The following evening Michelle came home from work to see Pete looking through her kitchen window. She contacted Walker to let her know that he was still hanging around.
“My husband Geoff brought a cat trap to town with him the morning of Friday, Feb. 1 and set it in our friends’ backyard. He checked it before he left town, finding it empty.
About 5 p.m. on Friday the Walkers got a message that Pete had been trapped, so they made arrangements to send Pete to the Williams Lake Veterinary Hospital to be boarded for the weekend.
“My daughter was so excited that she squealed. She was pretty upset when I told her I wasn’t leaving that very second to drive to Williams Lake to pick Pete up and bring him home, but soon was counting the sleeps until she could see him again.”
Walker is thankful to everyone for their help.
“There were so many people that shared on Facebook, put posters up that I had sent to town, articles that were written and great friends that understood. The support was amazing and still brings tears to my eyes. Darcy from All West Freight is going to let Pete ride up front with him on his way out to Nimpo Lake.”
The Walker children’s teacher, Ms. Lane, suggested the students write about the adventures of Happy Feet Pete during journalling time.
“I can hardly wait to hear the stories of his three-week long adventure in the city,” Walker said.
The family named the cat Happy Feet Pete because his front feet never stopped from the moment they brought him home from the dump.
He was always kneading so Walker had to wear her work pants or snow pants because when he sat on her lap if she was wearing jogging pants or jeans his kneading hurt really badly.