SALT LAKE CITY — A cat may have used a couple of its nine lives when it was accidentally shipped with an Amazon return from Utah to California.
A Utah couple got the surprise of their life when they got a call that their missing cat was found in Los Angeles.
Carrie Clark said her family’s indoor-only cat, Galena, mysteriously disappeared on April 10. Friends and family helped them search their house, neighborhood and surrounding community for a week while they plastered missing posters around town and on social media.
“Galena is a huge emotional support to me and has helped me get through many health challenges over the past six years,” Clark told KSL TV in an email. “The anxiety and stress of not knowing what happened to her was excruciating.”
Then, on April 17, Clark received a text that Galena’s microchip had been scanned that afternoon. Immediately after, imagine Clark’s surprise when she received a call from a vet — in California.
“I didn’t believe her at first and thought it was a prank,” Clark said.
The vet told Clark she had her beloved cat, Galena, who was found inside of an Amazon box alongside five pairs of work boots.
“I ran to tell my husband that Galena was found and we broke down upon realizing that she must have jumped into an oversized box that we shipped out the previous Wednesday,” Clark said. “The box was a ‘try before you buy,’ and filled with steel-toed work boots.”
Ultimately, Galena was trapped in the box with the Amazon returns for six days without food or water.
An Amazon employee named Brandy rescued the cat from the box when she found it in the California warehouse. She took care of the cat before dropping Galena off at the vet the following day.
“After talking to the vet, I got to talk to Brandy on the phone!” Clark said. “She was so relieved to find out that we love Galena and were desperately looking for her.”
Clark and her husband booked a flight for the next day to reunite with their miracle cat.
Clark said she wants to encourage all pet owners to microchip your pets and “triple check your Amazon boxes!”
