When Jeni Owens’ cat, Sarin, went missing from her home in Topeka, Kansas, three years ago, her kids shed “a lot of tears.”
“Mom, why can’t we find her,” Owens’ daughter, then 6, bemoaned.
They never did find Sarin, and eventually replaced her with another cat, Amelia.
So it was much to the family’s surprise when Owens got a call earlier this month that Sarin had been found and was in good health. And it was an even bigger surprise to learn that the feline was discovered near Kline, a rural community west of Durango, some 793 miles from Topeka.
“I've never been to Colorado – ever – so I don't know how she got there,” Owens said.
The family will likely never know the details of their pet’s unlikely journey, but Owens and her kids are looking forward to their reunion with Sarin Thursday. The cat will be flown, free of charge, to Topeka thanks to American Airlines and the work of La Plata County Humane Society volunteer Cathy Roberts.
Sarin was the Owens family’s first pet and lived with them for about a year and a half before she disappeared. Although she lived indoors, Sarin was known to escape from time to time. Owens said Sarin always returned home – until she didn’t one day in October 2020.
“I assumed that either a fox got her or somebody else picked her up,” Owens said.
Nearly three years passed before the cat was found on County Road 136 and brought into the LPCHS on Aug. 29 as a stray. The volunteers there scanned her for a microchip, and were able to contact Owens.
“That's why you microchip your pets,” Roberts said. “Not only do you microchip them, but you keep the information up to date.”
Owens was in disbelief when Roberts called to tell her that LPCHS had Sarin.
“What cat?” Owens asked.
Once the initial shock wore off, Owens realized she faced another problem: Topeka is a 13-hour drive from Durango. She would need to take time off work and get a hotel room if she wanted to come pick up Sarin.
Roberts jumped into action. She contacted Durango-La Plata County Airport Director Tony Vicari, who reached out to United and American Airlines. American Airlines agreed to fly Sarin back to Kansas.
Owens and her daughter, now age 9, are ecstatic to be reunited with Sarin at Kansas City International Airport Thursday afternoon.
“We're all ready for her to come home,” Owens said.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
