Trucker Reunited with Beloved Cat Who Went Missing in Ohio: ‘It’s My Christmas Miracle’

A Georgia man was reunited with his cat recently after it disappeared from a truck stop in Ohio last July.

Matthew, who works as a trucker, had parked his 18-wheeler at a Love’s Truck Stop in Springfield when his cat, Ashes, was spooked by something and ran away, according to Fox 8.

The young man searched high and low for his pet but eventually had to get back on the road to complete his route. He even traveled back to the truck stop several times to try and find him, but his efforts proved unsuccessful.

However, in early November a woman and her friend moving from the west coast back to Rochester, New York, spotted Ashes when they made a pit stop at the same location.

The emaciated feline emerged from the bushes and was half-frozen in the 13-degree weather. “He was trying to not put his feet down on the ground, it was so cold,” Kimberly stated.

She wrapped the cat, whom she called Smokey, in a blanket and took him with her to Rochester. “It was a difficult move for me,” Kimberly said, “and Smokey was cuddled up in my lap the whole way home.”

When they arrived, she took him to Lollypop Farm Animal Shelter to receive medical care.

The staff was pleased to discover that the cat was microchipped and immediately called his owner to give him the good news.

“Matthew couldn’t believe it when he got a call saying that his 3-year-old cat Ashes, who had gone missing at a truck stop in Ohio in July, was safe and sound at Lollypop Farm,” the shelter’s Facebook page read.

The two were recently reunited at the shelter’s cat adoption center where Kimberly and her friend came to witness the touching scene.

“It’s my Christmas miracle,” Matthew said the moment he had Ashes in his arms again.

When the grey cat saw his owner’s 18-wheeler following their reunion, he leaped back into the vehicle and sat in his favorite spot.

The trucker said if it had not been for the Ashes’ microchip, they probably never would have found each other again.

“If you love your pet, you just have to chip them. The women that found him saved his life, but the microchip brought him home,” Matthew stated.

Since their reunion, the two are back on the road, traveling America’s highways together.