Watch: Cat found in California was missing for 12 years
Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A cat that turned up in a California animal control officer's back yard was reunited with his family 12 years after being reported missing.
Riverside County Animal Services said in a news release that Animal Control officer Dalton Churchwell found a cat roaming in his back yard in Blythe and scanned him for a microchip.
The microchip revealed the feline, named Butters, had been reported missing from his family's San Diego home in 2011.
Churchwell contacted Butters' family, who had since relocated to Stanwood, Wash.
"It was just unbelievable. I'm so grateful to Officer Churchwell to have Butters identified. The officer just really went out of his way. You know, he did this on a Sunday night, on his time off," owner Angelo Castellino said in the news release.
The ASK Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the animal services department, offered to foot the bill to fly Butters to Seattle for a reunion.
Volunteer Larry Rudolph accompanied the cat on the journey and turned Butters over to Castellino and his wife, Shelley.
The Castellanos said Butters is now settling in at home with his brother, Barnacles.
Butters' whereabouts for the missing 12 years are unknown, and the Castellinos said they have no idea how their cat made the more than 200-mile journey from San Diego to Blythe.
