Dan Dzurnak was halfway through a long drive from Michigan to Florida when his cat, Duke, disappeared from a roadside motel in rural Tennessee. Nearly six weeks later—and just hours ahead of a bitter cold snap—Dzurnak flew back on a last-ditch mission to find him.
“I was with my 6-year-old male cat, Duke, who I’ve raised since he was a baby,” Dzurnak told Newsweek. “After stopping at a motel in Caryville, Tennessee, for the night, I found my Duke missing in the morning.”
Dzurnak extended his stay in the area for two days, searching on foot and posting flyers around the small community. But Duke was gone. With no sign of his pet, the owner continued to Florida, though he left behind posters at gas stations and local businesses in hopes someone might call with news about his beloved feline. And to his surprise, around one month later, someone did.
“A resident who saw one of the posters [told] me he has spotted Duke around his house, and was able to produce a photo of him from which I was able to positively identify him,” Dzurnak said.
He began planning a trip back, but with temperatures set to plunge, he rushed his arrival, fearing that Duke might not be able to survive the cold.
“Seeing that a severe cold front was approaching, I booked a flight to Knoxville on Thanksgiving Day two days away, on a long-shot whim that I could find him,” Dzurnak added.
After landing, he rented a car and drove the final 35 miles back to Caryville. The man who had called—Jeff—met him and guided him to a wooded area nearby his property, where the cat had last been seen.
“And, miraculously, after searching the wooded area around Jeff’s house for less than two hours, we spotted him, and I was able to get him back in my possession, after surviving in the wild for over five weeks,” Dzurnak said.
Though visibly hungry and thinner than before, Duke had made it.
“The gentleman there, Jeff, said Duke looked like he was hunting rodents when he saw him, but I don’t think he was too successful because he was awful hungry when I found him—devoured a big chunk of chicken breast I bought with me immediately,” Dzurnak said.
Two days later, the pair returned to Florida together.
“I might add that, during those five weeks I was in Florida, I thanked God every night for keeping him safe and healthy wherever he was, because I didn’t give up on him,” Dzurnak said.
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