Animal Control Officer Finds Cat Missing for 12 Years in His Backyard: 'Just Unbelievable'

Butters the cat, who disappeared from his San Diego home in 2011, was discovered by an animal control officer and flown to his family's new home in Washington

A tabby cat named Butters recently reunited with his owners 12 years after disappearing from his San Diego home.

On Oct. 1, a cat caught the eye of Dalton Churchwell, an officer with Riverside County Animal Control. The feline in question was wandering around his backyard in Blythe, California, according to a press release from the Riverside County Department of Animal Services (RCDAS).

Churchwell scooped up the cat and scanned him for a microchip containing identification information. The animal control officer found a microchip, which revealed that the wandering feline was named Butters, and that pet was reported missing from his San Diego home in 2011, per RCDAS.

After finding Butters and unearthing his history, Churchwell got the honor of letting the cat's family know that their pet had finally been found alive and well.

"The owners were overjoyed when Officer Churchwell called them and told them he had found Butters," RCDAS shared.

Owners Angelo Castellino and his wife, Shelley — who have since relocated to Stanwood, Washington — were eager to welcome Butters back home with his brother, Barnacles. Everyone remains perplexed about how Butters survived on his own for a dozen years, especially since Blythe is over 200 miles from San Diego, where the cat went missing.

“It was just unbelievable,” Angelo said about Butters resurfacing, per the release. “I’m so grateful to Officer Churchwell to have Butters identified. The officer just really went out of his way. You know, he did this on a Sunday night, on his time off.”

The ASK Foundation, a non-profit group that helps RCDAS with various programs, heard about the story and paid for a flight to Seattle to reunite Butters with his family.

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On Saturday, Butters was delivered to the Castellinos in Seattle by Larry Rudolph, a 10-year volunteer of RCDAS, according to the release.

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"We were thrilled to work with the Department of Animal Services to make this reunion possible," ASK Foundation president Carolyn Badger said in a statement. "It was such a wonderful story, and we are very happy to know that Butters is home and safe with his family."

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"I thought he was dead," Angelo told ABC 6, adding, "Butters is a pretty adventurous cat, so he would go outside a lot. He learned how to use the doggie door and one day, he never returned."

"We went looking for him, and our assumption was the coyotes got him because there's a canyon nearby," he added.

Shelley told the outlet that she sees Butters' microchip as critical to his reunion with the family.

"Our prodigal kitty has come home," she said. "I cannot stress enough how important it is to get your kitty cats and your doggies chipped."

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