The cat vanished during a trip from Maryland to Michigan
In December 2017, Barack, a feline member of the Shivers-Barclay family, went missing in Pennsylvania. Now, five years after he vanished, someone found Barack and reunited him with his family.
Missing
When the Shivers-Barclay family headed to Michigan by car, they took their beloved cat Barack with them. They were going to spend the holidays with family and they were driving up from Maryland. In Pennsylvania, the family stopped at a gas station to get some snacks. Barack was in the car at the moment but as soon as the car door opened, Barack jumped out of the car. Sambia Shivers-Barclay told Newsweek: “My daughter was petting him so the crate was open and we didn’t think about it. As we opened the car door to get out, he ran out of the crate and jumped out of the car.” Apparently, Barack got scared and ran off into the woods. The family looked for him but at some point they had to keep driving without their beloved pet.
Search
Barack’s owner said that she couldn’t enjoy the time spent with her family. “I cried the entire Christmas. The day after Christmas I apologized to my parents and said I’ve got to go, to get back to Pennsylvania and see if I can find Barack.” Even though she still couldn’t find her furry friend, she left his crate in Pennsylvania and asked the staff of the gas station to look out for him. Every weekend, she would return to the Pennsylvania gas station to look for Barack but without success. Eventually, Shivers-Barclay said that she gave up hope and she started fostering cats.
Reunited
Then, a little over five years after Barack vanished, she received a call. “They said, ‘would you happen to have a cat named Barack?’ I said I had a cat, but he’s been gone for five years. That’s when they said no, he’s right here.” The cat showed up at a farm that was 40 minutes away from where he vanished. The owners asked the vet to check for a chip and that is when they found out that the cat was Barack Shivers-Barclay. His owner immediately jumped into the car to pick him up. And Barack is happy to be back. “He’s really overly affectionate. If I’m around him, he immediately leaps into my arms and he likes to snuggle under my neck. He has shown me 100 percent that he remembers me,” Shivers-Barclay said.
Read more: Missing dog returned after she rings doorbell of her former shelter
Source: Newsweek | Image: Unsplash, Bogdan Farca