A couple was reunited with their cat after he survived the Maui wildfires.
According to People, Danielle Franco and her boyfriend Bon were separated from their cats Finn and Bali while evacuating as the wildfires swept through the area on Aug. 8.
Their home was destroyed, but the tragedy of losing their pets made matters worse.
Fortunately, animal rescue groups helped search for surviving pets during the cleanup.
The Animal Search and Rescue/Animal Incident Management, Greater Good Charities, and Humane Society of Maui all worked to scour the “burn scar” area for survivors.
According to Greater Good Charities, the “burn scar” is the “area where the wildfires left little standing,” People reported.
Laura Littlebear, vice president of field operations for Greater Good Charities, stated, “The area was a complete loss. Our goal was to target trap cats/dogs in the disaster zones where there was no access to resources such as food/water.”
“We trapped over 100 cats, many of whom were burned, injured, or suffering from extreme dehydration and starvation,” she went on.
“We were also tasked with scanning and transporting animals from the field that had perished. This is a difficult task for even the most seasoned field teams,” she said.
One of the animals found alive was a friendly orange tabby who was rather talkative. He was brought to the Maui Humane Society, where he was scanned for a microchip.
This matched one of the destroyed homes and workers were able to contact Franco.
She rushed to the Humane Society to find her cat waiting for her.
“Bon and I couldn’t be happier to have Finn reunited with us. It’s given us so much comfort and hope after so much loss,” she said.
Franco also noted, “I cried every day, not knowing if he survived, and even though we knew the chances he made it out were slim, we weren’t ready to give up hope.”
“Getting the call he made it was the absolute best feeling like we were getting a piece of our heart back,” she added.
She then concluded, “We both look at him now and overflow with love and happiness.”
