'Dopey' the cat reunited with his south Sacramento family after 6 years

sacbee ^ | June 23, 2009 | Bill Lindelof

[JoeProBono]

Dopey, a long-eared, droopy-eyed orange tabby that was missing six years from his south Sacramento home, has been reunited with his family. He's a little heavier but remains the same lovable Dopey owner Donna Lane-Mills remembered. "I was shocked when they told me he was found," said Lane-Mills. The long-lost feline apparently lived for awhile in Rancho Cordova where he was cared for by a woman who later gave him to her grandmother in Yolo County.

When her grandmother died, Dopey was turned into the Yolo County Animal Shelter in Woodland. There, the shelter staff discovered an American Kennel Club (AKC) Companion Animal Recovery chip that Lane-Mills had her veterinarian implant under Dopey's skin several years before. The AKC left a voice-mail message at Lane-Mills' home, informing her Dopey had been found in the Yolo shelter. "Dopey?" she thought. She listened to the message again, sure, as was the rest of her family, that Dopey already had used up his nine lives.

"He was a favorite of my youngest daughter who was just 6 years old at the time of his disappearance," Lane-Mills said. "She was crying herself to sleep at night saying, "I miss my Dopey.' We thought he had been hit by a car." Figuring there was a mix-up, Lane-Mills called the Yolo shelter and asked an employee to describe the cat. The shelter perfectly described Dopey, so named because of his unorthodox features. "He has a distinctive face," said Lane-Mills. She went to the shelter that day, and workers said Dopey, being 9 years old, probably never would have been adopted because of his age, Lane-Mills said. She was more than happy to bring the cat home.

[srmorton]

That was my thought. The shape of his head is identical to my beautiful Siamese male cat. I know that his mother was not Siamese, but he looks full-blooded so his father must have been. He gets his sweet disposition from his mother.

[PERKY2004]

A great reminder to microchip your pets and, if you find a “stray,” be SURE and check for a microchip!

[LtKerst]

Animal Recovery chip that Lane-Mills had her veterinarian implant...
thats just great! I paid $35 for a chip and it is Worthless if no one knows it is there...

they kept someone elses Pet for 7 years....

[patriot08]

thanks for the little lift...needed that

[Fawn]

What a lucky kitty....thanks for posting....

[Slings and Arrows]

Agreed, on both points.

[caddie]

The cat looks like, “Man can’t this family take a hint?”
LOL.
Very happy ending for a cat who looks like she’s been chasing parked cars.