Cat found in Bucks reunited with owner 250 miles away in BELGIUM

A cat which had been missing for 10 months and was found in Buckinghamshire has been reunited with its owner... 250 miles away in BELGIUM.
RSPCA inspector Andy Eddy, Milene Letertre and Milenes dad Stephane Letertre.RSPCA inspector Andy Eddy, Milene Letertre and Milenes dad Stephane Letertre.
RSPCA inspector Andy Eddy, Milene Letertre and Milenes dad Stephane Letertre.

Gizmo went missing in August 2015, while temporarily living in Bucks with his owner Milene Letertre.

Despite an extensive search, Gizmo could not be located and in November a heartbroken Milene moved back to her home in Silly, Belgium.

But last week, 10 months after eight-year-old Gizmo had gone missing, the RSPCA received a call from a concerned member of the public about a cat found in High Wycombe, which appeared to be ill.

GizmoGizmo
Gizmo

The cat was scanned for a microchip, which came up as European and with Milene’s contact details.

Milene said at first she thought the call from the RSPCA inspector informing her Gizmo had been found ‘was a bad joke’.

“I didn’t believe this could happen 10 months after we lost him! It still seems unbelievable to me,” she said.

“I got Gizmo in 2008 and he has always lived in Silly with me and my dad. Five years ago, I left Belgium to study and work in the UK and my dad has been taking care of Gizmo ever since.

GizmoGizmo
Gizmo

“Last June, my dad had to travel for three months and so I proposed to take care of Gizmo for that amount of time. Unfortunately, Gizmo escaped by a small window one day in August and despite us looking for days and weeks after him, we never found him. In November, when I moved back to Belgium, I lost hope I would ever find him. It broke my heart that I would never know what happened to him.”

RSPCA chief inspector Rob Hartley said: “Gizmo was found wandering a street and in a bad way - he seemed to be very ill, his fur was falling out and he was completely disinterested in food.

“We immediately had him scanned for a microchip, which showed that his owner lived overseas. It just goes to show the importance of microchips - it does not matter where you are in the world, as long as your pet is microchipped and the contact details are up to date then there is a very good chance that you will be reunited with your pet, just like Milene has.

“We have no idea what adventures Gizmo has had in the last 10 months but he will no doubt be very contented to be back at his home in Belgium.”

GizmoGizmo
Gizmo

Last Thursday, Milene travelled from her home in Silly back to Bucks to collect Gizmo and take him back to her home in Belgium.

Milene said: “Ever since I received the phone call about Gizmo, the RSPCA has been very professional and very helpful, for which I am very grateful.”

The RSPCA is a charity and we rely on public donations to exist. To assist our inspectors in carrying out their vital work please text HELP to 78866 to give £3. (Texts cost £3 + one standard network rate message)