A Utah couple inadvertently shipped their pet cat in an Amazon return package, leaving it trapped without food or water for six days. Carrie Clark, one of the cat’s owners, discovered that her beloved pet was missing on April 10. For nearly a week, Clark and her family and friends searched the couple’s house and neighborhood, plastered missing posters around town in hopes of finding Galena.
The anxiety and stress of not knowing what happened to her furry friend were unbearable for Clark. On April 17, she received a text from a microchip scanner that Galena had been found. Later that day, she received a call from a veterinarian in California who explained that the cat was found inside an Amazon return package along with five pairs of steel-toed work boots. The shortest distance between Utah and California is several hundred miles, making the discovery even more astonishing.
Clark immediately shared the news with her husband, realizing that Galena must have jumped into an oversized box they shipped out the previous Wednesday. With the rise of online shopping during COVID-19 lockdowns, there has been an increase in the number of online returns in 2021. KSL-TV reported that Galena was rescued from the box after six days without food or water by an Amazon employee who found her in the warehouse and took her to the vet.
Clark and her husband then flew to California to reunite with their feline friend. The reunion was nothing short of amazing as Galena instantly stopped shaking and relaxed in Clark’s arms. Despite being skinnier and mildly dehydrated, the cat’s bloodwork was normal, and she was unharmed. Clark hopes that this story inspires other pet owners to microchip their pets as having a microchip significantly increases the chances of reuniting lost pets with their owners. The American Veterinary Medical Association states that a cat microchip typically costs between $40 and $70. Clark did not respond to a request for comment from BI.