Cat belonging to Montecito mudslide victim found three years later
MONTECITO, Calif. - A miraculous story of survival, three years in the making.
Meet Patches, a beautiful Calico that turned up at the ASAP cat shelter last month in Goleta.
Turns out, Patches has a microchip--and an incredible story we'll never fully know. Somehow Patches lived through the Montecito mudslides; her owner, Josie Gower, did not.
ASAP employees said Patches went missing on Jan. 9, 2018, the night of the debris flow. Everyone assumed she had passed away with her owner, but, in December 2020, she was found less than a quarter-mile away from the site of Josie's old home in Montecito.
When the shelter staff scanned the microchip, they were able to track down Josie's partner, Norm. The photo of the two was posted on Instagram.
Needless to say, it was an emotional New Year's Eve reunion for Norm and Patches. And, it's very likely that Patches was born with more than the nine lives given to most normal cats.
