posted April 17, 2010 10:17 PM         

All dogs go to heaven and apparently, some cats go to Chicago. A tabby cat from Albuquerque, New Mexico has journeyed over 1,300 miles and ended up in Chicago without his owner. The cat, named Charles, went missing in New Mexico eight months ago while his owner, New Mexico resident Robin Alex, was away volunteering in Louisiana. After Charles was found and identified by an embedded microchip, Chicago Animal Care and Control contacted Alex about the good news. However, Alex said that she didn't have enough funds to fly Charles back home to New Mexico, and was heartbroken at the thought of never seeing her beloved pet again. As luck would have it, another New Mexico resident heard about the news and decided to help:

Enter fellow Albuquerque resident Lucien Sims. Sims said he has a tabby cat who strongly resembles Charles, and was moved when his mother sent him an online story about Alex and her pet.
Most importantly, Sims said was on his way to Chicago on Thursday for a wedding, so he said he would go to the shelter, pick up Charles and bring him back to New Mexico.

Sims has made all the arrangements for Charles' return, including getting a company to donate a cat carrier and American Airlines to waive the cat's travel fee.