How a cat can change our lives is not lost on Robert Connell. The veteran found Hemi back in 2009 on his engine block in North Carolina and the cat not only became a family member, joining wife Jennifer and two daughters, but also became a companion for Robert. A companion that helped him deal with PTSD.
When Robert was redeployed, the family, including Hemi, moved onto the base. Hemi, however, seemed to be concerned that Robert had not been part of the move and went looking for him. Jennifer wasn’t worried about his disappearance at first, but after about an hour of his being gone, she was very concerned.
Fast forward to 2016. Robert is back and the family, minus one cat, had moved to Bismark, North Dakota some two and a half plus years earlier. Then came a call from a North Carolina animal shelter. Hemi had been found and identified via microchip. Arrangements had been made to fly Hemi, but the weather had other ideas, so Robert, who understood that his feline cohort had simply been looking for him all those years ago, was compelled to make the journey himself to retrieve their long-lost, but certainly never forgotten, family member. With Hemi back in the household, Robert stated the family was feeling “whole.”
Going to North Carolina was the right thing to do. Afterall, Hemi had been concerned enough to look for Robert when he disappeared. Seems only fair that Robert should do the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96sid4LiBZQ