AC Pup: Pets and their humans have unbreakable bonds

I just can't imagine anything worse for someone who deeply loves a pet than to have that animal go missing. Not knowing where he is, if he's OK, or if he's hungry or scared has got to be the worst feeling in the world for an animal lover.

I regularly interact with people on my Facebook page who are desperately looking for lost pets. It's sad to see the grief the family of the lost pet experiences.

I spend a significant amount of time every day posting information and pictures of lost, treasured pets and rallying my almost 10,000 loyal Facebook followers to help search. The response I routinely get from them is very impressive. My Facebook friends will patrol the streets looking for lost dogs and cats. They'll repost pictures and help put up fliers. Fortunately, we have been able to reunite many families with their lost pets.

One such case involved a beautiful long-haired black kitty named Derpy. She is the beloved 2-year-old girl that belongs to Mykie Robbins. He adopted her and her brother, Jesse, as tiny kittens as soon as they were old enough to leave their mom.

They've lived happily together as indoor kitties near the new mall in north Macon and had never been separated from each other. That was until the night Derpy slipped out an open door.

This is every pet parent's worst nightmare -- to have a pet that has lived indoors and not really familiar with the outside world, escape and suddenly be on her own.

Mykie frantically searched everywhere for Derpy. He alerted his family and friends. He posted her picture and story on my Facebook page. He did everything he could think of.

Painful hours turned into heartbreaking days and then weeks with no sight of Derpy. If losing Derpy wasn't bad enough, her brother Jesse slipped into a deep depression because of her absence. This was the first time in Jesse's life he had ever been apart from his sister. He stopped eating, was lethargic and grieving. Mykie feared for Jesse's well-being and was scared he might lose him, too.

But Mykie didn't give up. He kept searching for Derpy.

And then there was a break, although the sighting was at an IHOP restaurant miles away from Derpy's home. Still, Mykie was hopeful and rushed to the restaurant. But the area was covered in thick brush, and the kitty could no longer be seen.

Mykie continued to hold a vigil to see if the kitty was actually Derpy. Then he saw her and was certain it was her. But she was clearly traumatized and wouldn't come out of the brush.

So a wonderful friend to the animals, Mr. Chris Brown, helped Mykie set a trap. They watched the trap for several days with no result. Still, Mykie wouldn't give up. He was determined to catch his beloved furbaby.

Then finally Derpy went into the trap, and after being lost for 17 days she was safe at last. She is now securely back home with her family, and no one could be happier than her brother, Jesse. He has his sister home, and life is good.

It's amazing Derpy was found so far from home after being missing for such a long time. And Mykie's determination and persistence to find Derpy is a testament to the unbreakable bond and incredible love between a pet parent and his cherished furbaby.

I hope you never lose a pet. But if you do, let Mykie's example of never giving up be the model to follow.

Send questions to acpup247@yahoo.com. Visit www.acpup.com or like his Facebook page.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 3:52 PM with the headline "AC Pup: Pets and their humans have unbreakable bonds ."