<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Courtesy of Global News (Toronto, Canada) at:</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">(video)</div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/1202181/ear-tattoo-helps-reunite-cat-missing-for-12-years-with-owner/">http://globalnews.ca/news/1202181/ear-tattoo-helps-reunite-cat-missing-for-12-years-with-owner/</a></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">-----------------------------------</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span></p><h1 class="story-h" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; line-height: 36px; font-family: 'Gotham A', 'Gotham B', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ear tattoo helps re-unite cat missing for 12 years with owner</h1><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A cat who went missing for 12 years has been tracked back to its owner thanks to an old ear tattoo.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Maxine was found last Saturday, not far from the Vancouver SPCA shelter.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A tattoo in her ear revealed she’s been missing for 12 years.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Lorie Chortyk with Vancouver SPCA says the tattoo was faded, and it took them a few days to figure out Maxine’s story.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The tattoo marks led them to a veterinary clinic that had her listed as deceased, because she has been missing for so long.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Through a lot of detective work, we were able to find her owner in Florida,” says Chortyk. “She was absolutely thrilled to find out that her cat was alive.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The owner has been contacted, and now they are trying to figure out if Maxine is healthy enough to be flown to Florida.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She is 16 years old, and was found emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from a heart condition.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Chortyk says Maxine must have fended for herself for the majority of the 12 years she’s been missing, looking for any food and water she can find.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I suspect she’s been wandering on her own a lot because she is just not in a very good condition,” says Chortyk. “It is clear she has needed veterinary care and has not had it. The life of a cat on the street is tragic, and we see it too often.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She says pet identification can go a long way in helping re-unite owners with their lost pets.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Maxine’s case really points to the importance of pet identification, particularly for cats. With dogs that come in to our shelter, we are almost always able to immediately return those animals to their owners, because they do have either a micro chip or a tattoo. Unfortunately, people just do not seem to put permanent ID on their cats.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Chortyk says there are only about eight per cent of cats that are reunited with their owners when they go missing, and they want to see that number go up.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“In B.C., we have tens of thousands of homeless cats because people do not put proper identification on them.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Chortyk says even if Maxine is too sick to be flown to Florida, her owner is making arrangements for a permanent home with either friends of family here in B.C.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Either way, Maxine is going to have a wonderful, happy ending out of this,” she says.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">--------------------</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Maxine</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><img src="cid:BF661F87-7F8E-4CE6-A288-E1A6EC3001EF" alt="image.jpeg" id="BF661F87-7F8E-4CE6-A288-E1A6EC3001EF" width="640" height="356"></p></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">-----------------------------------<br><br><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></body></html>