Entrant's Name
Cari

Animal Bio
Coles' notes version: I used this pic on flyers when Larry went missing on July 7, 2025 but kept changing the description. He was locked outside as there were houseguests and he would never come back in, he is a skittish, timid cat. I had a sighting of him 3 days later under the neighbour’s shed, but the hunt was on as he kept moving further and further away. After lots of logistics, sightings (on camera), and a firing of a rescue team who was not that good (or had the best of intentions) of reuniting animals, I brought in the Rockstar Karen Nixon of Halo Pet Rescue who after capturing two other black cats finally got my Larry on Dec 3: 21 weeks of being gone: BEST MAX GIFT EVER! It was countless hours of searching, posting, talking to people, expanding the search area, routinely going to look at various locations to see where ‘a black cat’ was spotted. I never gave up. I figured he was still out there, I had pics of him through numerous cameras for the first 3 months (and then nothing for two months until I got the two sightings back to back in the same location up at 144th and 72nd (1.5 miles from his home). I knew he was surviving out there. They do, they become incredibly resilient and resourceful and switch into flight or fight survival mode which I learned from experience as well as Karen advising me. After capturing the 2nd black cat she said to me as I was left devasted once again: Cari, we just need one sighting, one sighting and I'll catch him. So I said to myself: Larry it's your job to stay alive, it's my job to find you, and it's Karen's job to catch you. Well that's exactly what transpired. More posters, more pounding the pavement, more delivering of flyers, more sightings to scope out. FF to Friday, November 28-I received a sighting from a house at 72 Ave and 144 St. I thought holy crap, he’s definitely travelling further north. Could this be him? So far away? So close to 72nd a major street? Description and behavior sound plausible-skittish, scared, took off when I called out to him the man said as he was caught eating from his garbage cans. Of course, he’d be starving but does that indicate it’s in fact my Larry? I ask if we can set up camera on property to get confirmation, but get no answer. I text to say I’ll stop by after work to see where exactly he spotted Larry, again no answer. But I go and knock on his door anyway. No answer. That’s okay, I have the back alley and enough info. So I chum the area by some shrubs. Next night, after putting up more posters I chum the shrubs and spread chicken broth all the way down the alley being as discreet as possible. I get home, just settling down, 45 minutes after a young woman calls and says are you still looking for your cat because I think I’m looking right at him, I ask where is she, she indicates the address. I said, I JUST chummed there! She sends me video but I was skeptical as he looked too big to me. I thought it’s not him. He’s too fluffy, he’s too big. He’s going to be skinny and emaciated. I thank her but with Karen’s guidance, I plan to set up camera next day. No sighting Monday. Tuesday, we get sighting of a black cat but can’t decipher if that cat has a few white hairs. Camera is not capturing and it’s hard to conclude. I’m skeptical and trying to keep my hopes low and I’m also frustrated and thinking: here we go again for another 24 hours. It not only takes a day to figure out confirmation but I think will this cat move on? Will he come back? But I go chum regardless. Wednesday, I wake up to more pics of mystery black cat. First pic I think: IT'S MY LARRY! I know his sweet little face anywhere! I reach out to Karen, tell her this is it! All day I kept my cool, I didn’t say anything to anyone, I didn’t want to get anyone emotional activated ‘just in case’. I’ve had enough false alarms and I know how painfully emotionally exhausting this is for those around me who have really walked with me in this path. It’s an emotional hell you’re living in…every single day. I did my classes, trained my clients, booted home…fed the rest of the furkids as Karen reached out to say 'Larry is going into the trap and I haven’t even finished baiting it and I scared him away, but don’t worry he’ll be back, get over here it’s soon he’s very hungry!' I thought OMG this is it, stay calm, stay collected, hold up girl you’re almost there. ' I grabbed my little mini Larry and booted over to the site. Karen said park beside the alley. I sat and rocked holding and kissing my mini Larry praying out loud: come Larry, come baby, come get food, come into the trap, come home over and over. She sent me one pic of him coming closer to the trap at 7:10, next at 7:11, then phone call at 7:17 Larry is in the trap. I literally lost my mind...I spare rest of the wonderful details as I'm running out of characters but my Larry is well, safe, happy and healthy back in my lovely arms since Dec 3. What a journey we both been on but I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. If you want more details: contact me at cari_plotnikoff@shaw.ca. Stay tuned for the children's book: Larry's Adventures (I'm on 4th draft): it speaks to the themes of bravery, courage, independence, hope, belief, love, resiliency, perseverance, friendship :-)