Scarly: Home for the Holidays

PACT's Christmas Miracle

Scarlett, missing for nearly 3 months, is reunited with her owner, Katelyn Daniels, on Christmas Day 2006, thanks to PACT's no-kill philosophy and a psychic who led Katelyn to renew her search.

My Christmas Miracle - 12/25/06

by Katelyn Daniels

I experienced a true miracle today. A while ago, a psychic friend of mine who happened to be born on Christmas Day some years ago had a gut feeling about my cat, Scarlett (“Scarly”), a beautiful all-white, 15+ year old Persian who had been missing since October 2. I had given up all hope of finding her but my friend had a “feeling” about a home not far from mine, where she sensed my cat might somehow be around. I went to this home and left a flyer with a photo, a description of Scarly and my phone number. The next day I received a phone call from a lovely 88 year old woman who lived at the home where I’d left the flyer. She took the psychic thing really well, herself being a fan of Sylvia Browne, and said she “saw” my cat outside her patio door several days prior but didn’t know what to do and didn’t let her in, adding that the cat looked lost and sad. I went over to meet her and showed her more photos and she was sure it was my Scarly. We agreed to leave some food out for Scarly, hoping she might come back around and I went home with an ember of hope in my heart that she might still be alive but with no great expectations of finding her. It was Christmas Eve.

I went back home and called the Schaumburg police department and asked if my cat, whom I’d reported missing on October 2, might have been seen or found. Nope. Nothing. I then called Golf Rose Grooming and Boarding, where the police transport all missing/stray cats in Schaumburg. I had also reported Scarly’s disappearance to them back on October 2 and had heard nothing. I talked to a man named Charles (Chip), who was generously manning the phone line on Christmas Eve, and told him the whole story. At first he didn’t think they had any cat like that at the shelter or hospital BUT upon a little further reflection, he said such a cat might have been brought in about 6 weeks ago, if my description was at all accurate. I then sent a photo of my cat to him through e-mail (modern technology, don't you love it!) and sure enough, he thought it might have been her. She was in awful shape when brought in, having been found in a Kohl’s parking lot by 2 good Samaritans on a cold, windy November 1 evening at about 7 pm......emaciated, matted, covered with mud and leaves...

I followed up on the information received from Charles at Golf Rose Animal Hospital and phoned a woman named Renea Burman, who runs an organization called PACT Humane Society. On the evening of November 1 she was giving a seminar to volunteers from her organization at PETsMART, across the street from the Kohl’s where this white Persian cat had been found. Two ladies carried this cat into the PETsMART wondering what to do with her. Renea instructed them to take her to the Schaumburg police station, they did. The police had no record of such a missing cat (though I’d reported her disappearance on October 2) and instructed them to take the cat to the Golf Rose Animal Hospital, where all missing Schaumburg animals are taken. Upon her arrival there she was examined by a veterinarian, estimated to be 7-10 years old, severely anemic, missing most of her teeth, weighing about 5 lbs., with a heart murmur and was likely in the beginning stages of kidney disease. The veterinarian recommended euthanasia because the cat was considered “unadoptable” by conventional shelter standards. He called Renea at PACT to tell her his recommendation. Renea asked, “Can she eat? Can she walk? Can she eliminate on her own?” The veterinarian said, “Yes”. “Well then,” replied Renea, “we won’t approve the euthanasia in this case. We’ll take her and find a special hospice foster care family for her.”

On Christmas Day Renea called me and told me the whole story. Scarly was living in a foster home in South Barrington. I got in my car, drove there and to my utter amazement, it WAS Scarly (Scarlett!!) though she looked a bit like a poodle, shaved all over except for her mane, lower limbs and a pouf at the end of her tail. She also had a new name “Cha-Cha”, (ha-ha)....and was wearing a red collar with a red polka dot bow. Awwww..... Ironically, PACT had also rescued a cat they had dubbed “Scarlett” not long before that.

Because I was planning to fly back to see my parents that evening I decided to leave Scarlett, a.k.a. Cha-Cha, with her temporary caretaker (who had, of course, fallen in love with her) for 5 more days until my return. She certainly had no complaints about doing that!

When I arrived home and told my girls the wonderful news and they were so excited! They then reminded me that 15 years earlier a client had given me Scarlett when I lived in Colorado, and I presented Scarlett to them on Christmas Day 15 years ago wearing a red ribbon tied around her neck!

So, you see, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus… miracles do happen and happy tears are shed....

Blessings to all and to all a good night.....

Katelyn Daniels

P.S. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Renea Burman of PACT and to Linda Palermo, who was Scarly’s foster Mom for several weeks following her discharge from the Golf-Rose Animal Hospital. Scarly is now back home and doing well, eating and re-acclimating herself to me and her my other cat. She sleeps at the foot of my bed like she always did.

I will make a donation to PACT as a thank you for all the care and kindness they demonstrated and the devotion they have to a “no-kill” philosophy and placing “unadoptable” pets in foster homes. They are Angels of Mercy and they saved Scarly’s life. I will make a donation to them each Christmas for the rest of my life.

I now plan to get both my cats micro-chipped as well.