The Fayette Humane Society uses Facebook to show off adoptable animals, announce events, and ask for help. A recent post did a lot more than that! A picture of one of the adoptable kitties was used to ask for donations. One cat was chosen at random to pose for a picture – and it changed his life.
Caesar, who was known as Craig at the Fayette Humane Society, was recently reunited with his owner after he had gone missing five years ago. Caesar had became lost shortly after his owners moved into their new home. Several years later, he was found off of a back-road in Fayette County by Frieda Craig on Jan. 28. Her daughter took him to the FHS Adoption and Business center so he could find a home.
“I went outside to do something and there was this big beautiful cat that was just standing there, meowing.“ said Craig. “I hate to see any animal hungry so I began leaving food outside for him. My daughter offered to take him to the humane society for me.”
Five days after Caesar was brought to the Fayette Humane Society, his owner, Brendon Furniss, saw his photo on Facebook. The post contained a photo of Caesar with the humane society’s donation wish list.
“Last Thursday evening I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw a picture posted by the humane society of a cat that looked just like Caesar.” said Furniss. “When I saw the picture, I showed my husband, and he agreed that it looked like our cat.”
Furniss immediately contacted the FHS feline adoption coordinator to arrange a meeting to see if indeed, the cat she saw on Facebook was her Caesar.
“We knew it was a long shot, but I had to check into it. I am friends with Nikki Hagler (FHS Adoption Coordinator), so I sent her a message on Facebook asking for more information. When she told me that he was found by a family who lives about two miles from my house, I couldn’t believe it. When she told me how sweet he was, I was pretty much convinced that it was Caesar, but it still seemed like it was impossible.”
When Furniss arrived at the Fayette Humane Society’s Adoption and Business Center, she was expecting to be disappointed – worried that she would want it to be Caesar so bad that she would make a mistake and take a cat that belonged to another family.
“As soon as I sat in the chair in the cattery, I called for him and he jumped on my lap and started brushing his head against my hand and kneading his paws on me. He was purring so loudly, and I just knew it was him,” said Furniss.
According to Feline Adoption Coordinator Nikki Hagler, he was a joy to the staff and volunteers.
“We just loved him. I was very surprised when Brendon contacted me and said that Craig resembled her cat that she had lost several years back. I did some research on where he was found and came to the conclusion that this could possibly be Caesar. I called Bobbi Honicker, our animal care technician, to see if she was able to meet Brendon at our adoption and business center to see if Craig was her kitty. I was ecstatic when I learned that Craig was indeed her long lost cat, Caesar.”
Since Caesar has returned home, he spends most of his time laying in the middle of the floor, following his owner around the house, and playing with his new toys.
“The staff at the Fayette Humane Society has been wonderful. From the time I sent Nikki Hagler a message, she was on a mission to find out if it was Caesar. It’s my understanding that there were quite a few phone calls between staff members who were not on the clock Thursday night,” said Furniss. “But the coolest part of this whole thing is that everyone I had contact with was just as excited as I was that I had my cat back. They didn’t ask for anything in return. They were just thrilled that Caesar found his family again.”
