I think missing animal cases are the hardest for me to do.
There’s so much more involved than in a regular conversation. You don’t want to give false hope or take advantage of the owner’s desperation. Emotions run extremely high for the owners, and usually for the animal as well. My own doubt about whether I’m doing it right plays a big role, and the question “Is the animal still alive?” is especially difficult for me to sense.
Whenever someone requests this type of conversation, I am always honest about it. I don’t want to give false hope, and even though there are often good results, it can also go completely wrong or turn into a frustrating process when there are no results at all. Only after discussing this, if the owners still want to proceed, do I do it with all my heart and full dedication.
Pacha has been missing for a week, and her owner really wanted to have this conversation.
Pacha was very clear in sending images of her surroundings. She showed me that she was in a place surrounded by high buildings—four apartment blocks forming a square, I would say. She is there but too afraid to return. During the day, she hides under a sheet of material or wooden planks stacked against a wall.
I asked her if she was trapped. No, she isn’t locked in, but she doesn’t dare to go back.
After the conversation, I decided to call her owner so we could figure out where this might be. A detailed written report wouldn’t really serve a purpose here—we want to find her, not sit and read. I explained to her owner what I had seen and asked if it made any sense.
She lives in an area with greenhouses, so there are no apartment buildings. But she immediately knew what I was referring to! A factory is being built nearby, and she could very well imagine that this was what Pacha had shown me. In fact, it was the most logical place for her to run after being startled by the dogs in their garden. The cat and dogs live separately in the house, but she had accidentally ended up in the garden—where she never normally goes—and was chased away by the dogs.
I advised her to go search in the late afternoon, when it would be cooler and the site would be quieter.
This afternoon, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and had to check if they had found her yet. Unfortunately, she’s not home yet, but there is good news. She has been spotted by the neighbor of the factory site! She is in the exact area she showed me. Her owner is continuing the search, and the neighbor has promised to call as soon as he sees her again.
Fingers crossed that she will be found soon and brought home safely!
And I’m just grateful that I was able to play a small part in this.
Come on, Pacha, show yourself and go home—you are so very missed!