A cherished pet cat was unexpectedly found after a distraught veterinarian mistakenly discharged the kitty to the incorrect family and the animal disappeared.
In Sydney’s eastern suburbs in July, pet detectives were enlisted to assist in the hunt for the missing tortoiseshell cat Tara.
Tara was mistaken for another tortoiseshell cat named Lara at the renowned Bondi Junction Veterinary Hospital, according to an exclusive report by the Daily Mail Australia, and she then fled.
Tara had been gone for weeks, but according to an update posted to Facebook on Monday night, she has been found alive and well.
Miscommunication occurred when Tara was given to the grandmother of the family that owned Lara.
When the family returned, they didn’t realise it was the incorrect cat and let her out into the backyard; Tara, unfamiliar with her surroundings, managed to escape.
Katie Matthews and her partner Bernardo Matuck were both abroad visiting ailing family in different countries when they learned their pet cat had fled.
Mr. Matuck posted on Monday evening about the “awesome news” and thanked everyone who had participated in the hunt for the stray animal.
While Ms. Matthews was ecstatic and said, she was “so happy to announce that our little Tara has been found!!!
‘Thank you so much Arthur & Co. Pet Detectives her collar is hanging off her neck… she is so thin lots of happy tears so excited to pick her up soon,’ she said.
One friend replied: ‘That is just amazing!!! Enjoy all the snuggles now you are reunited!! What a resilient and brave little cat’.
Dr. Julia Crawford, owner of a veterinary facility, conceded last month that the error was the result of human error, but assured that standards are in place.
Since the error, the clinic and its employees have been the object of community outrage.
The veterinarians resorted to Facebook to take responsibility and request that nasty remarks not be thrown towards the family of Lara, the cat who was mistakenly given to another home.
‘The grandma who inadvertently collected Tara (instead of Lara) did NOT intentionally let Tara outside,’ the clinic said.
‘Ideally, no cat should be let outside immediately after returning home from a stay away from home, and that was the sentiments behind the words typed in the frantic message sent to Tara’s owners.
Dr Crawford said there were policies and steps in place to ensure a mix up like this does not happen but they were unfortunately not followed when the pets were released.
‘It was a single mistake made by someone who in that moment wasn’t thinking about what they were doing,’ she said.
‘Similar cats next to each other. Everything is labelled, everything’s in the right place, and it was a human error.
The other cat Lara was released shortly after Tara went missing and has already settled back into life at home.
Ms Matthews, who describes Tara as the light of her and her partner’s life, spoke to Daily Mail Australia in July describing how worried she was.
‘Tara always boards with BJVH when we go away and we trusted them because they personally know Tara. She gets all of her check-ups and injections there.
‘She just had her flu jab and one of the vets told us not to worry about Tara boarding as she will get so many cuddles because she is well known and loved by staff there.
‘At the end of the day… they were the only people that were responsible for Tara and they failed her and us.
‘She is such a gentle caring soul… we feel beside ourselves. She isn’t a street cat… she is a garden girl and she has no idea how to fend for herself.’
Ms Matthews thanked the community for their outpouring of support but also added that she ‘does not condone any anger toward vet staff’.
And said that she doesn’t blame the elderly lady who collected Tara saying she could have just run outside when she got home and opened the carry case.
The search ramped up after the couple’s pleas for help find their beloved cat went viral and the vet hospital hired a pet detective to locate the animal.
Bondi Junction Veterinary Hospital gained worldwide recognition due to veterinarian Dr. Chris Brown and the long-running television series Bondi Vet.
The series is now filmed at a different local veterinary facility.
Dr. Chris Brown has since hosted many additional popular television programmes, including I’m a Celebrity. Remove me from the room and the living room.