Jade Schulte of Albuquerque thought she’d never again see her cat, Miko, after a house fire burned her home last December. “We didn’t think we were going to get her back,” Schulte told The Associated Press. “We had basically given up hope and were hoping that she was with a good family.”
Then, two weeks ago, Schulte received a call from Pueblo (Colo.) Animal Services, telling her that Miko was safe at the shelter, 240 miles away. “I said, ‘How on earth did she get to Pueblo, Colorado?’” Schulte said.
Shelter staff believe that Miko hid in a truck, which then drove up Interstate 25 from Albuquerque to Pueblo. Miko was missing her collar when she was picked up by animal shelter staff, but her microchip identification put officials in touch with her owners.
“If there’s a way to show the benefits of microchipping, this would be it,” said Rick DeReyes of Albuquerque’s Animal Welfare, who helped reunite Miko with Schulte. Donna Straub of Puelbo Animal Services drove Miko to Santa Fe, and DeReyes picked her up there and drove her to Albuquerque. Miko is now home with her family.