A family in North Carolina has been reunited with their pet cat over a week after he was swept away in Hurricane Helene floodwaters.
The Burnsville family watched their cat climb to safety on a neighbor’s roof during the storm last month before he lost his grip as the roof floated downstream and eventually disappeared from view.
But when the family — who had been forced to evacuate their property — returned to their home over a week later, their cat named Ricardo Blanco was there waiting for them.
The cat's owner, Nan Collins, said that she and her family did not give up hope that one day they would find Ricardo Blanco alive and well again.
"He's doing fine, playing and doing all the normal stuff,” Collins told the Best Friend’s Animal Society.
She added, “His full name is Ricardo Blanco because he's like a little movie actor, so full of life and playful. He's like a puppy dog and wants to be beside you and take a walk."
Ricardo Blanco was treated for an ear and eye infection, as well as some ticks, through a free mobile vet clinic at a nearby shelter by the Best Friends Animal Society.
“There are so many stories just like that of Ricardo Blanco and his family throughout western North Carolina,” said Audrey Lodato, Director of Regional Programs for the Best Friends Animal Society.
“By opening a free mobile clinic, Best Friends Animal Society is working to fill a gap for services, providing basic veterinary care to the Western North Carolina community at no cost so that people and their pets can stay together during this difficult time," she continued.
Source: People