Shadow the tuxedo cat survived an incredible five months alone in the wilderness near Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park in northeastern British Columbia after slipping out of his owner Jeremy Barton’s car during an overnight stop on their journey from Alaska back home to Oklahoma City in July. Barton searched for hours with Shadow’s food bowl trying to lure the food motivated cat out of hiding. Shadow was found later in mid November by Christine Sutherland and Bruce Kosugi. Sutherland flew to Winnipeg in mid December with Shadow to meet Barton, who drove up from Oklahoma City to reunite with his cat in an emotional moment that started cautiously but transformed by bedtime when Shadow was showing love to his owner again.
The reunion was nearly delayed by bad weather that prevented Barton from meeting Sutherland before her flight back to Fort St John, with hotel staff stepping in to care for Shadow for several hours until Barton finally made it across the border through the storm. Barton says Shadow appears thinner but remarkably healthy after surviving nearly five months in the Northern Rockies, presumably living off rodents or trash to stay alive through the harsh wilderness conditions that could have easily claimed his life. The community rallied around the reunion effort with the trip costing up to 1,300 dollars, but Kosugi covered parts of the flights with Air Miles points and much of the cat travel equipment was donated by generous Fort St John residents. Barton calls Sutherland the closest thing to a saint he has ever witnessed and says his sons were willing to forgo Christmas gifts if it helped bring Shadow home, with the entire experience serving as a powerful reminder of kindness that crosses international borders during a time when relations between the countries faced challenges.
