Photo:Courtesy of Ginger Thompson
Courtesy of Ginger Thompson
A cat who went missing at the Denver International Airport after escaping her carrier and falling to the tarmac is back safe in her owner’s arms.
Breezy the Bengal cat, got out of her carrier while she and owner Ginger Thompson were boarding their Southwest flight in Denver on Monday.
“They were getting me on the plane rushing me, and I set her down to get ready to put her under the seat, put my backpack up into the overhead bin, and was sort of jostled,” the owner, who lives in Vancouver, Washington, told Denver outletFOX31.
Breezy the Bengal cat in a Denver hotel room after being reunited with owner Ginger Thompson.Courtesy of Ginger Thompson
After escaping her carrier, the show cat fell between the plane door and jet bridge, landing on the tarmac below, Thompson told the outlet.
“I saw her fall, and she sort of tried to claw to stay up, but the momentum just took her down,” she said. “And it wasn’t a jump or anything, it was more like just falling.”
Thompson shared news of Breezy’s scary situation on Facebook and included aheartfelt messagein the updater. “Breezy is more [than] a show kitty,” she wrote. “She and my other 2 are what keeps me going.”
A friend of Thompson’s started aGoFundMeto help cover the cost of a hotel, so the distraught owner could stay near the airport while staff members searched for her missing cat.
Southwest employees search for Breezy the Bengal cat at the Denver International Airport.Courtesy of Ginger Thompson
After checking into the hotel, Thompson shared a screenshot of her text conversation with a Southwest ramp agent, who told her that “about a dozen” agents were actively searching for Breezy.
Two hours later, the worried owner sharedanother update. “It’s been a little over 24 hours [since] I lost Breezy. I’m going out of my mind worrying. Trying to be patient but laying here in the hotel waiting is killing me, and I’m losing any hope as each hour passes.”
“What has kept me going is all the support that is being offered and shown to get Breezy home,” she added.
A day into the search, Southwest employees found the show cat hiding in a ramp area at the airport.
Breezy the Bengal cat was found at the Denver International Airport after she was missing for over 24 hours.Courtesy of Ginger Thompson
“Breezy has been rescued,” Thompsonwroteon Facebook. She went on to thank the entire Southwest crew for their “diligent efforts” to rescue her beloved cat “with care” — and shared that she would be offering them a reward for their hard work.
The owner also shared a photo of her text conversation with one of the crew members, who sent her a picture of the feline after she was discovered.
“Southwest ramp loves Breezy,” the employee texted Thompson, sharing a group selfie of the cat and the team that found her.
Thompsonshared photosof Southwest employees' successful search for Breezy, including a shot of the team holding flashlights.
Ginger Thompson (right) and officer Tiffany Middleton, who reunited her with her Bengal cat Breezy after she was missing at the Denver International Airport for over 24 hours.Courtesy of Ginger Thompson
“Southwest ramp crew are the best,” she wrote alongside the photos.
Thompson also sharedsnapshotsfrom when Breezy was returned to her — including a selfie with the police officer who reunited them — and aphotoof the show kitty licking her paw in the hotel room.
“Her chin is no [longer] bright white,” the owner wrote, adding that Breezy was “oily and greasy but safe.”
According to Thompson’sFacebook, she and Breezy are staying in Denver until the feline visits a veterinarian. Once the Bengal cat gets a clean bill of health, she and Thompson will return to Washington, where the owner’s other two kitties, Sammy and Beemer, await their return.
“They’re more than just show animals or pets,” Thompson told FOX31 of her furry friends. “They’re my family. They’re all I have.”
source: people.com
