Happy Tuesday, Shawnee Mission!
☀️ Today’s forecast: Sunny. High: 49. Low: 36.
? One thing to know today
A cat that somehow ended up in Prairie Village — nearly 1,500 miles from home and almost two years after first being reported missing — has been returned to its owners in Miami, Fla.
The orange tabby cat named Lucky was picked up near 75th and Windsor last month.
Animal control officers were able to read an implanted microchip that showed the cat was owned by someone in south Florida and had been originally reported missing in June 2021.
Then began the process to try to get Lucky home.
Enter: Carrie Emert, who often flies to Florida on business and happened to be making another trip there in the weeks after Lucky was found.
She is also a frequent animal transport volunteer, working to reunite stray pets with their owners.
Usually, she said, she does that by car, but Lucky’s situation was unique.
“When I heard he needed a chauffeur, I jumped at the job,” she recounted in a Facebook post earlier this month:
Due to her frequent travel, Emert was able to upgrade Lucky to first class, where he charmed the cabin crew and earned the hashtag moniker #FirstClassFeline.
Ultimately, Emert handed Lucky off to his rightful owners in a teary reunion in Miami, documented on her Facebook page.
“He was awesome,” Emert said of the flight home. “Scared and a little confused, at first, but really a perfect passenger. He meowed once when we took off and then that was it.”
Videos and pictures taken in the days after Lucky’s return (which can be viewed on Emert’s Facebook post) show the cat readjusting to life back at home.
Like Prairie Village Police, Emert said Lucky’s experience is a reminder to get your pets microchipped.
“You never know how it will change the trajectory of their lives…and yours,” she wrote on Facebook.
? Post’s top Monday stories
- State orders Unleashed Pet Rescue to stop taking in animals
- Man found dead following standoff at Overland Park apartments
- Concept for prominent Westwood site on Rainbow Boulevard includes park, offices
- Shawnee St. Patrick’s parade draws crowd downtown — See our pictures
- ?♀️ 5 to Try: What are the best hair salons in Johnson County?
? Other local news
- An Olathe woman was hospitalized with minor injuries after a two-vehicle wreck on K-7 Highway in Shawnee late last week that was the result of one of the cars allegedly running a red light. [WIBW]
- Basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal flew into Kansas City late last week to formally cut the ribbon on a restaurant he owns that will host a kiosk at the new KCI terminal. [KMBC]
- The Community Blood Center earlier this month declared the first blood emergency of 2023. Donations are down partially due to the cold and flu season, a high number of lapsed blood donors and a drop in first-time donors. Schedule an appointment here. [KCTV]
? Notable tweets
Recognition for a SM East Lancer.
Congratulations to Senior @SMEastLancers Afa'anwi Akwankaa for being recognized by the @Princeton_Prize! Afa'anwi is one of 5 high school students in the Kansas City region to receive a Certificate of Accomplishment from the committee. pic.twitter.com/yetIdDiNGn
— SM School District (@theSMSD) March 13, 2023
