Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
SALINAS, Calif. — A Salinas couple has reunited with their beloved house cat after losing him in Yellowstone National Park.
The couple, Benny and Susanne Anguiano, said they have gone on many camping trips with their cats before. However, this trip to Yellowstone ended with one of their cats, named Rayne Beau, at the SPCA in Roseville, California.
After being startled, Rayne Beau ran off into the Yellowstone trees. The couple, worried for his safety, spent every day of their trip trying to find him.
They even laid out his favorite treats and toys in hopes he would find his way home, but by the end of their trip, they thought they may never see him again.
"We had to leave without him," said Susanne Anguiano. "That was the hardest day because I felt like I was abandoning him."
Anguiano said she spent the entire time away from Rayne Beau remaining hopeful she would see him again. She even saw a sign in the sky as they were leaving Yellowstone reminding her of his name, which is pronounced like "rainbow."
"We were driving along, and out of nowhere, these double rainbows appear, and it just knit it all together for me," said Anguiano.
Sixty days later, their hopes came true when they received a message from Pet Watch with Rayne Beau's microchip identification and location.
He was in Roseville, California, at the local SPCA. The couple said a woman in the area found him alone in the street, realized he was someone's pet, and turned him in.
Although they were excited to see him again, he was not in a healthy, good condition.
"He was really depleted," said Susanne Anguiano. "He probably didn't have a lot of energy to even go further."
Still, the couple does not know how their cat, in two months, was able to get from Yellowstone to Roseville, which is over 800 miles away.
Now, they hope someone will see their story and recognize Rayne Beau.
"Hey, I remember that cat, and like we saw it here, we saw it there or even they took it in," said Benny Anguiano.
The couple also wants to encourage other pet owners to take precautions, such as microchips or a global tracker, to protect their animals.
"Definitely microchip your cat or your pet and register the microchip online," said Susanne. "We would have never gotten them back had that not happened."
With Rayne Beau back home, reunited with his siblings and safe, they hope to take their cats back on trips again but only when everyone is ready for it.