Photo, Mark M. Murray / The Republican
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A family who lost everything when their house burned on Monday has been reunited with their cat, who was missing all week after fleeing the fire.
Tanya Kelley, her husband Derrick Bayton Sr., and their family were burned out of their duplex in an old house in Springfield, MA after a fire began in the attic Monday morning. Thankfully, no one was injured in the fire.
A Shih Tzu dog owned by Mr. Bayton’s brother escaped unharmed and without incident, but Honey the cat fled the home during the fire and went missing.
The home is uninhabitable, and the family, who lost all their belongings in the fire, has been staying at a hotel.
The landlord’s son found Honey in a second floor closet Friday morning and immediately contacted her family.
“There was a lot of cheering,” Bayton said, when the family got the good news.
Honey is thought to have climbed a vine and entered the home through a broken window.
Cathy Oczkowski of Dee’s Professional Grooming bathed Honey and cleaned her up free of charge. The groomer said it took two baths to get Honey clean again and told a reported from The Republican that she could not take the family’s money.
“We are ecstatic,” said Bayton. “She is like part of the family.”
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