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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Lisa Letcher & Philip Norris

Missing cat spent seven months at motorway service station after running out of family car

A cat that went missing at a service station on the M5 has been found at the same location seven months later.

The much-loved pet, called Millie, ran off while owners Shaun Ore, 56, and Pauline Dearing, 42, from St Ives, Cornwall stopped at Gloucester Services in Gloucetershire last June.

Despite nine hours looking for Millie the family, who were returning from a holiday, had to continue their journey home, reports Cornwall Live.

A couple of days later they travelled back north and stopped twice at the services, hoping that she would be there waiting for them - but she never was.

Despite this, they never gave up hope of her returning home.

Saun said Millie would often travel with them to just about anywhere but she became spooked as they opened the car boot to let her out on her harness for some fresh air and water as it was a hot day.

"When Pauline picked up her cup something startled her and she was gone," he said. "It was shocking. People were chasing after her and I did see her get to the services and up to the roof, but we never caught her. I still can't believe she has survived all that time and not many many people had seen her."

Millie the cat went missing in Gloucestershire as her family travelled home to Cornwall from their holiday. She was reunited with her owners after seven long months. (Animals Lost and Found Gloucestershire)

Despite the family being home in Cornwall they never gave up hope and volunteers from Animals Lost and Found in Gloucestershire, set up by Louise Davies, kept on the lookout.

This week, seven months later, the hard work payed off when Millie was found.

"I didn't believe it until they scanned Millie because without that number we were not 100 per cent sure," said Shaun.

"I had goosepimples when we saw her. Louise and Fiona sent me a little video and as soon as I saw it I just knew it was her."

They were the reunited after seven long months and Shaun said "there were tears all round" and "it was the best thing ever."

Louise Davies told CornwallLive: "We worked extremely hard to find her. I get emails through from various different websites to my group all the time and I saw that these poor people lost their cat at the services so I emailed Pauline and she replied saying they were devastated.

"I told them we would put up posters and go down there. We went four or five times soon after she went missing and couldn't see her, searched everywhere.

"We flooded the place with posters and it was through my number being on the poster that the staff there saw her. I kept in touch with the owners and we had a few sightings that we looked into but it was never her until it was."

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