Urgent Help Please.....

SuseKay replied on 25/11/2023 12:59

Posted on 25/11/2023 12:59

Hi I'm Sue and new to this forum, Hubby and I motorhome, but he usually deals with all the admin etc!

I am really hoping this community can help in a race against time, to find a British(we believe) motor-homing couple, to bring a happy ending, to an incredible story. This couple would have been travelling through France in July, UK bound we believe, but we cannot be sure.

I am part of a team of animal lovers working furiously to find these people, before time runs out. Across the internet as we have worked to spread the word, this has at times been branded a scam or hoax, but it absolutely is not, that has just served to hinder us

Here is the story......back in July a British couple in a motorhome lost their 3 legged, tortoiseshell cat at the services "Aire des Haras au Sap Andre61" on the A28 in Normandy, France.

The couple returned several times to the service station, handing out and posting posters, to find their cat, until someone reported to them that a tortoiseshell cat had been killed on the motorway close to the services. At this point the couple apparently removed the posters and did not return again.

Fast forward to the start of November, when a lorry driver that knew the story of the missing cat, spotted the 3 legged cat, alive and well at the services! The kindly lorry driver, spent time to get her into a local rescue, which as I understand it, for strays in France, is a lottery win, as many are not so fortunate.

Ever since then, there has been a huge online search, to find this couple who are presumably grieving their cat and doubtless reliving the awful circumstances that caused her to be lost in the first place. The cat is apparently not microchipped, so the owners cannot be traced that way, but in our search we have encountered many stories of failed and migrated chips, so we are keeping an open mind that she may indeed be chipped, but the information is not available to us right now if she is.

All attempts to find one of the original posters, or trace an online appeal for the lost cat have so far failed, but time is running out, as at the end of the month the rescue will allow her to be rehomed.(I think it is a French legal requirement for her to be held for a month).

We are desperate to find these people and bring a happy ending to this extraordinary story.

It would be tragic to find these people a day too late, once she has left the rescue.

I am new to the forum, if I should be posting this elsewhere, please help by advising me, but I am appealing to everyone who reads this to share this story any way you can to help us to find this couple.

Thanks so much for reading this if you have made it so far

Sue

x

 

Wherenext replied on 25/11/2023 13:23

Posted on 25/11/2023 13:23

Not having a pet of our own we don't know the full procedures for French regulations, viz-a- vis visits to French vets. I do know you are required to have your pet checked over before returning to the UK but not sure what the situation is for outward journeys. 

Why am I mentioning this? Well, if the cat had to be checked on its outward journey in France by a French vet then it might be an idea to contact those vets nearest the ports of Calais, Dieppe and Dunquerque to see if they remember a 3 legged cat sometime in early summer. A long shot admittedly. 

Here is a link that someone on the forum has compiled. Sorry I can't help any further.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?msa=0&mid=1iIlzLt0KPOT6sNe-n7TuoAgxcjI&ll=48.16344861175127%2C2.627199101562381&z=6

It might be that one of the Moderators might move this to the Overseas section as it might allow more members who travel overseas  to see it there.

SuseKay replied on 25/11/2023 13:30

Posted on 25/11/2023 13:30

Thank you, that is really helpful.

Could I be cheeky while I'm here....can I ask, do I have to post this is all the different categories on here, or is there a single list of the most recent posts? Thank you, Sue 

Tinwheeler replied on 25/11/2023 13:46

Posted on 25/11/2023 13:46

Please don’t post it more than once as duplicate threads cause confusion and are usually closed down or removed. As WN said, a mod might move this thread if another section is deemed more appropriate.

Latest Activity shows posts in chronological order irrespective of their category but it’s not an infinite list. You can access LA by tapping twice on the Club Together tab above right or by tapping Club Together in the breadcrumb trail.

Wherenext replied on 25/11/2023 13:52

Posted on 25/11/2023 13:52

Quite a few of the posters will check latest postings by clicking on "Club Together" in the top right just below the search eyeglass.

Personally, as time is of the essence, I would copy your post and paste it in Overseas section as well. Moderators may not like having duplicate threads but in view of the circumstances I would hope they would allow it for a short period.

It might jog someones memory.

Edit - I have just seen your post TW and would normally agree but it would appear time is running out and it doesn't really matter where answers come from as long as they come. It's an unusual posting but I would hope a bit of lassitude might prevail.

DavidKlyne replied on 25/11/2023 14:56

Posted on 25/11/2023 14:56

One wonders how the cat actually got into France without a functioning microchip as I understand that is part of the checks made as you enter France. Might this suggest it wasn't a British couple? Whilst the owners went back to the Service Station apparently several times it is rather surprising  that they themselves did not initiate some sort of  Social Media campaign at the time or when they returned home? 

David 

LLM replied on 25/11/2023 17:43

Posted on 25/11/2023 17:43

Sue you could try other fora.  One of the biggest is Motorhome Fun.  Last time I looked it had nearly 100k members.

SuseKay replied on 25/11/2023 19:11

Posted on 25/11/2023 19:11

Thank you for your help and suggestions so far.

Wherenext: I will repost it thank you

LLM: I will try Motorhome Fun thank you

David, this is one of the mysteries, as to whether the cat’s chip had moved or ceased working, was a stray they had picked up, so many unknowns until we find these people.

Regards a social media campaign when they lost her, we have multiple people telling us they recall seeing it online at the time, but as happens with Facebook etc, they cannot be certain what page saw it on as it is a while back now, but the team of us have done extensive searches online to find it with no luck….we wonder if once they thought she was dead, they removed their post and all shares were at that point removed too…..it is incredibly frustrating!

 

Thank you all x

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