Finding Toby: A Tale of Community, Resilience, and Hope

When your beloved pet goes missing, how far would you go to bring them home? Let's follow Rachel Pehrsson's extraordinary journey as she races against time to find her orange cat Toby, who has a knack for vanishing. From a nervous goodbye in Pittsburgh to an unexpected phone call in New York, join us as we unravel the roller coaster of emotions Rachel experienced when Toby disappeared during her spring break trip. 

The search for Toby was no ordinary cat chase. Against a backdrop of suburban Pittsburgh, Rachel and her friends navigated unanticipated neighborhoods and run-ins with dubious characters. But this journey isn't solely about the missing cat. It's a testament to the unwavering bond between humans and animals, the resilience that surfaces in times of adversity, and the kindness of a community rallying together. 

As we reach the climax of Rachel's story, we relive the heartwarming reunion with Toby. The euphoria of finding Toby after almost two months of relentless search, the strengthened human–animal connection, and the crucial life lessons learned along the way makes this episode a must for all pet lovers. We reflect on the significance of cherishing moments with our furry friends and the importance of perseverance, no matter how challenging the situation may seem. Tune in to this inspiring journey that isn't just about a lost cat, but about love, community, and never giving up.

(In later episodes, I'll focus on specific parts of Rachel and Toby's story to explain a lot of the principles, tools, and techniques involved in recovering a missing pet.)

"No Place Like Home" is a podcast about missing pets. I feature content from owners, finders, volunteers, and professionals.

I always appreciate a rating and review on your podcast app and a follow on Facebook, where you can find the show at nplhmitch. Find episodes, transcripts, and additional information at noplacelikehome.show.

If you have questions or feedback, you can contact me at nplhmitch@gmail.com.

Remember to always think missing, not stray or dumped.

This podcast was created, hosted, recorded, and produced by me, Mitch Bernard. The opinions expressed on this show are those of the people expressing them and do not necessarily represent the views of any other entity.

Chapters

• 0:00 The Search for Toby
• 9:14 Lost Cat Search and Rescue Efforts
• 24:21 Lost Cat Search and Neighborhood Flyers
• 39:27 Lost Cat, Strange Messages, Helpful Neighbor
• 43:49 Reunion of Lost Cat and Owner
• 57:20 Podcast Wrap-Up and Farewell

Transcript

Mitch Bernard (00:00):
<silence> Set that up. Okay. Welcome to No Place Like Home, the podcast about missing pets. Today I'm recording from my home in Barre, Vermont. I'm your host, Mitch Bernard. And today we're gonna be talking about a tough case, my first field case. So let's get started. I'm excited to have with me today Rachel Pehrsson, who is the owner of a lovely orange cat named Toby, who went missing one lovely day a couple of years ago. And Rachel, welcome to the podcast. I would love for you to tell us about what happened with Toby. Like start, not just where I became involved, but like from the, from the beginning. 'cause it's, this is such a good story.

Rachel Pehrsson (00:43):
It is a wild ride. Um, I, I can still tell people this story and they're just like floored. Um, Toby is currently doing one of his favorite things, which is hiding. Uh, he, I already forced him to show up on camera during a work meeting today. 'cause we were talking about our cats and he made the mistake of walking next to me. And so I decided to be a mean owner and picked him up and forced him on the camera. <laugh>. So I, he, he does not like to be, he does not like the camera. He's camera shy. Aw. Uh, he, he likes to be in pictures. He's good poser, but he does not like to, uh, be on Zoom call. But, so, um, yeah, this was the, so it was actually about a little more than a year ago. So it was this March, early March of 20, uh, 22.

(01:33):
Okay. Um, and I was, uh, doing my, so I was in an accelerated grad program at the time at Carnegie Mellon. Um, so that's why I was in Pittsburgh in the first place. Um, and we had spring break and I had never done a spring break trip. I had always just gone home. So I kind of wanted to do a spring break trip. And so a couple girls and I were gonna go to New York and I had to figure out what to do with Toby for the whole week. And I, one thing I've always liked about having friends and knowing people is a lot of times people are willing to look after your pets and you don't have to pay somebody on Rover. Yeah. And I had asked, and, um, this is a downfall of frugality. I had asked my grad school program if anyone would be willing to come look after Toby, and usually that happens in our apartment.

(02:30):
And they, and the only taker I got was a girl who said, I can't look after him, um, in the apartment, but he can stay in my boyfriend's apartment. And there, even at the time, there was like a part of me and I regret say I, I, it's embarrassed to say this, but there's a part of me that's like, I don't know that that's a good idea. Toby is so skittish and he's particularly afraid of men. So he, I got Toby when, um, my roommate, when I lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, um, found him on the street as about a 10-week-old kitten. He was about a pound and a half. Um, and pretty much ever since I've owned him, he is always been very skittish and very afraid of men. In particular. He does not take to strangers, but a female stranger, especially if I'm around, he'll come around to eventually Hmm.

(03:26):
A male stranger. He's, he's been off and on with my brother-in-law for about two years, and he's stayed at my brother-in-law's place Wow. For like a month. So, um, you know, it, it's, it's, it's, I don't, I think it has something to do with how he got on the street mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, and I was just thinking to myself, you know, oh, but, you know, paying for a Rover person this whole week would be so expensive and there's a frugal, I have a frugal streak. And so I just thought I'll do this. And especially since the girl in my program was like, oh, you know, we really wanna have, get, see if we can get a cat. So this'll be great practice. And I was like, oh, you know, this will be win-win. It'll be great. It'll be great for everybody. Yeah.

Mitch Bernard (04:13):
But also, you don't, you never know who you're gonna get. If, if it's a stranger through Rover or a service or whatever. Like if you don't have a personal referral, then one is as good as the other. At least you knew this person.

Rachel Pehrsson (04:25):
Right. So, yeah. I mean, I've worked, I, I did leave Toby with a Rover person, um, before, but I don't know if she was available at the time. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I don't really remember. She had looked after him, um, on my first vacation when I, when I first moved to Pittsburgh. But, so I thought I had been done it really well and because I was like, I'll bring him to this boyfriend's place and um, which is like

Mitch Bernard (04:55):
15, 20 minutes from your apartment. Yeah. 15. It's not like right next

Rachel Pehrsson (04:58):
Door. It was 15 minute drive. It was out, in, out in Wilkinsburg. They don't live there anymore, so I don't mind saying it. <laugh>, <laugh> and, uh, neither do you. So <laugh>. Um, and um, it was, so I drove out there with him and I was like, I'll stay there. The whole Oh, hello

Mitch Bernard (05:18):
<laugh>, speaking of missing cats

Rachel Pehrsson (05:21):
There the whole time, uh, like leading up to when I have to leave for my plane to New York. Yeah. 'cause like I, uh, we were vacationing in New York and he'll know, like, he'll see me interacting, he'll, he'll know that this is an okay place. And so I think it's going well. He seems to be getting more comfortable at the place when I'm leaving. I'm a little concerned that they're crowding him, but I kind of say like, you know, let give him space. He doesn't know you, especially the man. Yeah. So I get on my plane literally in the baggage claim and I got a call and you know, whenever, like there's no reason for you to think something's wrong mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but you just instantly get this gut feeling that something is wrong. So I pick up the phone and it's the boyfriend and he is going, Rachel.

(06:15):
I'm like, oh God, what happened? I was like, is he lost? And he's like, yeah. And, uh, so he ends up putting the, my classmate on the phone and she is sobbing. Oh. And like, I initially lashed out and I am not proud of it. Um, I was emotional and he was like, I'm so sorry. Like, well, sorry. Doesn't fix the problem. And like, I, I wish I hadn't done that and it, but yeah. In a couple, it's understandable. Couple, yeah. In a couple minutes I calmed down. Especially since like, this is actually the second time Toby's been lost the first time. That's right. Uh, was during a move, he, um, jumped out of a window again because he, he was frightened by the moving the men who were the movers. And he ended up being lost for about 20 hours. And to make a long story short, my sister, I had this gut feeling that he was in the chimney for some reason.

(07:07):
And my sister hired a chimney sweep and dug him out from the basement, basically. Wow. Um, and so I have so many people who are like, man, you really know your cat. 'cause I would've never guessed <laugh> that you would be down the chimney. And for some reason I was just like, that cat's down the chimney. Yeah. Um, and this was like a crumbling old house, you know? And it was like an old, it, the chimney was not up to code according to Yeah. Chimney. So I, I, I guess there's emotionally, I thought to myself, you know, I've, I've lost him before too, so I can't be too angry at them. And I tried to talk her down, especially because she was so upset. And you, you can imagine like you offered to watch somebody's cat and then you lose it within five hours. Especially when you were doing this to prove to yourself that you could take care of a cat.

(07:58):
Uh, yeah. I would be sobbing too, for sure. Um, so I spend maybe 24 hours or so, not that long. I call up my sister, who is the one who saved the day with the chimney incident. And she loves Toby too. She's the only one in my family other than my mom who's not allergic. So she usually looks after him. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And she ended up paying me, paying for me to fly back early from New York. 'cause I was a grad student, so, and I didn't have that much money. And that will play in later too. Yeah. Um, so we, they've already put up signs. And it's funny how I wanted to put, uh, mention this just for contrasts sake. They did their best. They looked for him in that night. They put out the track. Um, they, they, at the time we put out the litter box because, well, the first time he gotten lost I was told that was something you do. Right. And then of course taught me later you do not do that. Yeah. Um, but they, they made up a bunch of signs and they put them all up and they, but they were like black and white signs with like a paragraph of text.

Mitch Bernard (09:09):
Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (09:10):
And so it was not something that people were really gonna notice. Yeah. But I get back and, um, I spend pretty much my whole spring break, like miserable. My sister drives up from DC to help me look for him one night. 'cause she's an angel, but we don't find him. And I'm really thankful because I was emotionally and not in a good place.

Mitch Bernard (09:33):
It was a terrible time. Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (09:35):
Um, and you know, and it's funny because all the cat behavior patterns, according to the what kind of cat, Toby is told me that he wouldn't go far.

Mitch Bernard (09:48):
Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (09:48):
That he would stay around the apartment complex because he's a skittish cat in an unfamiliar area. And since he had gotten lost before, I assumed that he would've done the same thing, which is run and find like a little nook. And so we were really focusing on that. And, um,

Mitch Bernard (10:06):
Should we set the scene a little bit about the apartment building? Where, the place where you went? Oh,

Rachel Pehrsson (10:11):
You have such trauma relating to that apartment building.

Mitch Bernard (10:14):
<laugh>? A little bit. A little bit. I just don't wanna skip that because it's important for the story. I think that, you know, this, the apartment was in a, a low rise apartment building in a large complex of similar buildings. Uh, he was on the second or third floor,

Rachel Pehrsson (10:32):
I think he was on the third floor. So, yeah. So the way Toby got lost is that, like he said that, so they, Toby was sitting on a window sill and they were cooking and they were letting steam out that they had a screen in front and the boyfriend didn't think that was safe. So he reaches for Toby, I guess, really suddenly. Yeah. And Toby, you know, the strange man is reaching for me. Yep. Freaks out, busts through the screen and goes out their third story window. Yeah. And below. So from what you remember, there was this like, almost like weird downward sloped hill of dirt that you had to climb down using a rope.

Mitch Bernard (11:19):
Right. 'cause this was at the back of the building. So the front of the building was, you know, you would enter, and that would probably be like on the second floor, it would seem like it was on the second floor, but in the back of the building it dropped down. Right. So there was like, you know, like a, um, a raised ranch might have in a house. So yeah, there was this steep incline from the, from the one side of the building to this backside of the building. And nothing back there. Like, there was a strip of, you know, a few yards wide of yard that went all the way across behind the building, but it was not intended for people to go out. Like there was no recreation area or anything. It was just that. And then this ravine, and there was literally with this brick building, this is like a, like a sixties, mid sixties kind of apartment building. And the side that planted side of the building had, um, eyeballs with a rope. So you were literally like repelling down this, uh, down this slope. I ended up buying crampons to get up and down that hill because I fell. Anyway, I just wanted to get that part of the picture. Like that's where they're spreading all these fires around and all that

Rachel Pehrsson (12:30):
Stuff. Right. It, it was because like Yeah. And if you remember, there was this small grass area and then it was a bunch, it just opened up to like trees. And then down there was this like community center and then there was a road. Right. Um, and the tree, like the, these re tree area was not very hospitable. Like you couldn't, it was very difficult to walk through.

Mitch Bernard (13:01):
And it was winter

Rachel Pehrsson (13:02):
And it was winter until, so

Mitch Bernard (13:03):
Nothing, there was no like, growth or anything. It wasn't hospitable at all.

Rachel Pehrsson (13:09):
Um, and so I, at one point I had called up this community center, which was completely shuttered 'cause they were doing construction and I had begged them to let me go search. And the lady did. But then she drew the line at letting me leave traps. 'cause she was like, you, I'm sorry. Like this is, this is like, we can't be attracting vermin and I can't be letting you go onto my property. Right. Every single day. It was like a privately owned, like nonprofit.

Mitch Bernard (13:44):
I'm sure they have insurance reasons, you know, people not be on property. Whatever.

Rachel Pehrsson (13:49):
It was like reasonable looking back on it. But at the time, yeah.

Mitch Bernard (13:53):
It,

Rachel Pehrsson (13:53):
It, and especially since like, the first person who picked up the phone was this dude that was like, I don't think anyone's gonna take time out of their day to go help you look for a cat.

Mitch Bernard (14:03):
That's nice. <laugh>.

Rachel Pehrsson (14:04):
And I called them again and got a, it got through to their other office and I'm crying and I'm like, this is what your guy told me, but I really care about this cat. And so I think part of the reason she let me in on the first place is because she was embarrassed that he was so rude to me.

Mitch Bernard (14:20):
Yeah. Could

Rachel Pehrsson (14:21):
Be. Um, but yeah, so like I was just running and I was spamming all the Facebook, all the social medias, all the social medias. I was posting on Reddit and I was posting on Facebook and that's when I got connected with you. Yeah. Um, because I posted on the Wilkinsburg Facebook page.

Mitch Bernard (14:44):
That's right.

Rachel Pehrsson (14:44):
And one thing that was always funny is that my parents, my family can be very paranoid and they also think I'm extremely naive. So they're like, Rachel, what if she's a human driver?

Mitch Bernard (14:56):
<laugh>. Yeah, that's right. I prefer Yes. Yes. But, and when did that come up? It was like that. They didn't want you to tell they didn't want me to come out or something. They didn't want you to give me too much information about something because, and I was like, you know what? They're right. There's plenty of scammers out here. There's plenty of evil doers. You know, I'm not one of them, but

Rachel Pehrsson (15:16):
Why would you That's true. I did run in with scammers later on, but I did think that as far as like human trafficking goes, there was easier ways for you to acquire young women. That's true.

Mitch Bernard (15:27):
That's

Rachel Pehrsson (15:27):
True. Than scouring lost pet pages.

Mitch Bernard (15:30):
Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (15:31):
Like trying to get money out of me that I could understand, trying to like, throw me in a sack and send me to some foreign land. I don't think that, uh, was gonna necessarily

Mitch Bernard (15:41):
Have <laugh>, but you never know. So thanks mom. Good job,

Rachel Pehrsson (15:45):
<laugh>. But it's like you finally met you in public places for that part, for that part of it. So, you know, it worked out. But, um, but yeah, my family, yeah. So

Mitch Bernard (15:55):
That week, sorry, I wanna, I, so the stuff that you did in that first week, that first, like, he was gone for like four days or six days or something before we connected.

Rachel Pehrsson (16:06):
I wanna say five days, because I think part of the reason I was so stressed when you first met me is because I was really worried that once my classes start, 'cause this was spring break and I was basically counting down to the end of spring

Mitch Bernard (16:21):
Break and that program was extremely demanding,

Rachel Pehrsson (16:24):
Right? Oh, it was like, it was one year. It was like a two year master's put into one year. Yeah. And like I was already kind of at the, the, at my breaking point. Yep. And then it was very frustrating to me to a certain degree because like, this is not the most of the issue, but then it means I I, my spring break was not relaxing

Mitch Bernard (16:49):
<laugh> No.

Rachel Pehrsson (16:50):
So I did not a break mentally or emotionally and that's for sure. But yeah, I was really, really trying to find him before the end of spring break. Yeah. And, um, so you reached out to me and you were like, I, I'm taking a class and I can do this for free mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And I felt very, very relieved. <laugh>, <laugh> that somebody was at least trying to help me. But I, I, I think I was a little resistant. I was a little resistant to your advice at first, in part because like, I was just so emotionally exhausted,

Mitch Bernard (17:22):
Exhausted. Plus everything I was telling you goes against all the instincts, you know, telling, not, don't call him, don't go look, you know, stomping around the woods, looking for him, whatever. Like all of that stuff, all the stuff we learn is not, it's just goes counter to what you think you should be doing. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So,

Rachel Pehrsson (17:44):
But one thing you told me to do, which immediately, uh, made a huge difference, um, was the kind of signs because we weren't getting anything right. From those little black and white signs that they put up. Yeah. And we put up a bunch of them and I remember you being like, you need to put up more signs. And I was like, we already did that. Like, we

Mitch Bernard (18:05):
Already

Rachel Pehrsson (18:06):
Went around and we already put up signs. He's my cat. Like I Yeah. And but you, you, you were, it wore me down. And so I then made those giant orange neon That's right. Signs with the giant pictures and the few words, and it's like night and day. Like as soon as I put those up on that intersection, um, it completely changed. I got, that's when I started actually getting calls. So. Right. Like, it's just a huge difference. But I I, we were still focusing a lot on the building at first. Yep. Because it was still kind of like, because I even had them bring out that camera for that little like, under building, like sh Yeah. I forget what it was. It was like a, it was like

Mitch Bernard (18:57):
A ventilation system. And then, uh, there were some vents and we thought that maybe he had found a way to crawl in. Um, there were these like breeze block columns and there were like all kinds of utility things inside them. And we thought maybe he's like hiding in one of those. So you actually brought out, I think a plumber, a plumbing company that had cameras that they could go in and scope all these vents where we thought he might be. And just to see like, was he in there? And, um, yeah, that was really frustrating too.

Rachel Pehrsson (19:30):
Yeah. Well, I think because part of it was, I was so convinced that he wouldn't leave because of the chimney incident, but I think one thing I didn't occur, to me with the chim, the difference is that the chimney incident happened in a space that he, he did know that space. Right. He was in a familiar area. Yeah. He was probably trying to get back into the house and um, he had no desire to get back into this scary place with this strange man. Yeah. And so, um, so yeah, we, you know, hindsight is 2020. I wish I hadn't wasted like 250 bucks on those plumbers, but I thought it was a pretty good hunch. There was this big, I remember there being this big gap that an animal clearly fought fall for. Yeah. And there was a time we caught a raccoon in one of that's

Mitch Bernard (20:20):
That's right. And

Rachel Pehrsson (20:21):
He was not happy. And, uh, the animal couldn't, we called animal control and they were like, you caught it. You uh, you bought it <laugh>. So

Mitch Bernard (20:30):
That's right.

Rachel Pehrsson (20:31):
Like, that's a you problem. They said it nicer than that, but that was definitely the tone. That's the

Mitch Bernard (20:35):
Meaning. Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (20:37):
Um, so we managed to have to release this very upset raccoon so their whole adventure happened. We even called up, uh, Carmen Brothers, but you That's right. Eventually we were just at the point where I was like, I don't know what else to do. Yeah. And um, you had suggested to me, you should call up the doc sniffers. And this is the part where it gets crazy for people. Most people I tell this story to, they're like, I had no idea this profession existed. Yeah. Or was a thing. They always bring up Ace Ventura.

Mitch Bernard (21:13):
Right. <laugh>.

Rachel Pehrsson (21:16):
Um,

Mitch Bernard (21:17):
Most people in our industry do not call themselves pet detectives for just that reason. Do not go in there. Yeah. We don't want that. Um, yeah. It's a very niche kind of thing, but she's very good at what she does.

Rachel Pehrsson (21:31):
Yeah. So you were telling me, you know, she'll bring up the dogs and you'll sniff her out. And I was, I don't know, I was skeptical. And the cost, it was about like $800 and the, again, I was a grad student, you know, I had no income. And I, but I just like thought to myself, you know, if this was a vet bill, you know Yeah. That might not work. I would've paid $800. I would've,

Mitch Bernard (22:01):
I

Rachel Pehrsson (22:02):
Would've not been Ha I would've been <laugh>. Yeah. But I would've done it. And Right. I have friends who, you know, crowdfunded $12,000 treatments for their dog. And Wow. I called her up and I was like, what's your opinion? And I asked my sister who had recently had to bring her dog in. 'cause he ate a tampon <laugh>, and she had to pay $800 to put a camera inside of him that didn't even do anything because it just went through. So <laugh>, she was like, I think this is your decision, but like, I, she's like, if I was in this position, I would, so I thought it, like, I remember calling up Carmen Brothers and she was like, almost about to go to vacation. And so she's like, I'll come tomorrow, or you're gonna have to have a siding by the time I come back. And I was like, oh,

Mitch Bernard (22:54):
<laugh>.

Rachel Pehrsson (22:54):
Yeah. And so eventually I just bit the bullet. I was like, all right, come up. And, and you know, I really appreciate that she was willing to come up on such short notice.

Mitch Bernard (23:04):
Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (23:05):
But I was, she came up and I, I I, I skipped class and uh, and she used, she was very intimidating to me, but also very impressive.

Mitch Bernard (23:17):
Yeah. Yeah. I could see that <laugh>.

Rachel Pehrsson (23:22):
Um, especially since I was a dumb green, trying to be green grad student. And I brought her used plastic bags and she thought I was an absolute

Mitch Bernard (23:32):
Moron. <laugh>. Oh my God. I'll talk more about so many of these things after. Yeah. Because there's so many follow up topics. Yes, that's right. For the, for descent article, just for our listener. You, I was like, I don't have <inaudible> <laugh> you, you, you collect scent from some object that the cat or the dog had like a bed or something. And you take a sterile gauze pad and you rub it on the thing, collect as much scent as you can for a couple minutes, and then you put it into a clean new Ziploc bag, zipper bag, and you close it up. So the scent is all sealed in there. And then when the dogs get there, the handler, you know, lets the dog sniff what's in the, in the bag and then they know what they're looking for. And you had used like a, there was a chip bag inside a bread bag or something. You were being very thrifty and very green. But Carmen was like,

Rachel Pehrsson (24:26):
I didn't know what the facts were for, but I forgot. Carmen definitely thought I was an idiot. <laugh>. And in hindsight I should have known. And oh my God. And I'm sure she's like, this girl goes to Carnegie Mellon and I'm like, Hey, we may be book smart, but that doesn't make

Mitch Bernard (24:43):
Me, well, you're not going there for dog tracking. So <laugh>.

Rachel Pehrsson (24:45):
I know. Um, but, uh, well, I mean, it's funny 'cause her dogs also aren't, people are like, are they like hounds? And I'm like, no. They were like a terrier, a golden retriever.

Mitch Bernard (25:01):
A lab. Yeah. She has a yellow lab, a rat terrier and a German shepherd.

Rachel Pehrsson (25:06):
Right. Yeah. But I mean, dogs are dogs. Yeah. So, um, the terrier was the one who like first like got, so unfortunately my used bags did not ruin the process. <laugh>

Mitch Bernard (25:21):
Smart dogs,

Rachel Pehrsson (25:23):
He snipped at the brush and just, she snipped at the brush and she zipped off. And

Mitch Bernard (25:30):
So immediately. Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (25:32):
Yeah. So it became very clear that Toby did not stick around the building. And at that point I had also gotten like calls about orange cats and this one lady's who was like, I have an un neutered female, two un neutered females, and I see orange cats in my backyard sometimes. And I was like, oh, cool. <laugh>.

Mitch Bernard (25:51):
That's right. She had the, the British short hairs. Right. The, the gray ones up on the hill there. Yeah, yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (25:56):
Yes.

Mitch Bernard (25:57):
Fix your

Rachel Pehrsson (25:58):
Damn cat <laugh>. Um, but Carmen brothers got to explore the wilds of suburban Penn Pittsburgh and run up and down all those hills, which she did not enjoy.

Mitch Bernard (26:11):
Oh, the ravines. I was the one who injured myself. We didn't come away injured. That's true. You kept

Rachel Pehrsson (26:16):
Falling <laugh>,

Mitch Bernard (26:18):
Just really clumsy <laugh> still have the scars from that. So Yeah. So thank

Rachel Pehrsson (26:24):
You. You, it's your battle scars.

Mitch Bernard (26:26):
That's right. I'm very proud. Yeah. So Trixie, the little rat terrier, uh, ran down immediately took off from the building where we'd been looking and we were like, oh, well, but that's okay. So she took, she takes off, she goes under this gate where, um, we would've gone if we had been going to that community center. And so we ended up driving around there because we can't squeeze under a gate. And she ended up tracking to, um, this neighborhood that I didn't even know existed before this. Like would never have imagined that to look, there, would never have thought to look there. 'cause it's beyond even the neighborhood surrounding the apartment complex. And we were like, how could he possibly have traveled this far? Right. So she tracked his scent to, uh, there was a, a creek I guess, that ran behind this row of houses on this one little quiet road in this neighborhood. And she followed to a little bridge over that creek. And that's where she, that's where Carmen sort of said, okay, this is kind of where it ends. You know, like, this is where the scent, she knows how to read her dogs so well. And she just knew that that's pretty much as far as we were gonna go, that the rest was gonna be kind of along this creek. So, um, so then, um, what did you do with that information once you had it?

Rachel Pehrsson (27:56):
She, she gave me very clear instructions. Um, so she was very, she was very open about the fact that, um, walk-ups are very rare, right? Like, you don't, when you use these dog trackers, you don't typically walk up to the animal, especially if they're skittish. And part of the reason, so my mom was very skeptical about these things because there was a dog in Nova that they'd been, they'd spent like some insane amounts of money tracking. And I brought that dog up and like, they've never found this dog. I've been like six months. Oh. And I brought that dog up and Carmen's like, oh, I've been hired on that case. And that's a completely different situation. Like once you're tracking the animal all over the beltway area of DC then like the, the these aren't as useful. The purpose of these tracking dogs is to find where the animal's hanging out and then typically they will just stay in a particular circle. Especially cats. Yeah. Um, because they're very territorial. So the crazy thing about this neighborhood that we quickly learned is that it was a mecca of orange cats

Mitch Bernard (29:07):
<laugh>,

Rachel Pehrsson (29:07):
I think one of the neighbors. So like every third house fed these straight cats. And one of the neighbors gave me an estimate at one point of there being 17 feral orange cats in that <crosstalk>

Mitch Bernard (29:20):
<laugh>. I don't remember that. Oh my god. I didn't

Rachel Pehrsson (29:23):
Remember. Oh, that happened. So Carmen Brothers had given me this like space and she's like, you need to flyer right. And you need to pass out a lost pet flyer to every house in this neighborhood. And I'm like, there's no way I can do this on my own. Yeah. So this is why you make friends <laugh>. So I went to my grad school program and I was like, anyone willing to help me flyer these neighborhoods to help find Toby. And so we made a little WhatsApp group called Operation Save Toby, and I think like six or seven of my grad school classmates came out and, um, help me. Like, we teamed up and chose different neighborhoods. And so they went out and they fired different neighborhoods. And that was an interesting experience because you, I got like international Chinese students texting me, what do I do about the house that's telling me that they'll shoot trespassers? Um,

Mitch Bernard (30:17):
I just don't go there necessarily

Rachel Pehrsson (30:18):
A er like Beijing

Mitch Bernard (30:21):
<laugh>.

Rachel Pehrsson (30:23):
But, uh, also the lady who was like, well, you know, there's a hop going around.

Mitch Bernard (30:29):
Oh, that's nice. Always helpful. Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (30:32):
I was like, thanks. And I had to, I think I messaged you and I was like, what are the odds that like an 11 pound adult cat could be taken up by a hawk?

Mitch Bernard (30:40):
It could not happen. And I didn't know that then, but we've since done some research in the ne someone's done been doing some research and found it, it just wouldn't happen. But anyway,

Rachel Pehrsson (30:49):
But this lady was like very adamant about like, yeah, well you know, this hawk I, I've heard they can pick up like 13 pounds. How big is your cat? <laugh>

Mitch Bernard (30:57):
<laugh>. I was like,

Rachel Pehrsson (30:58):
Wow. Thanks. Um, but apparently that lady called up one of her friends and said she was worried that she scared me because that friend mentioned it to, uh, my friend <inaudible>. And I was like, really? Yeah, I kind did. But um, we handed, one of the people that got our flyers was this couple who had this little cat like oasis in their backyard. They had a, a cat house with a heat lamp that the cats never even used, but they kept it on every night just in case. Yeah. Because it gets cold out there. It had already snowed I think like twice at this point. Yeah. Um, and then, uh, and so like part, so there was this upside that, you know, we knew that this was a place where he was getting food and water and he could see his peers, so to speak and figure out what they were doing. But that meant that we got a lot of false

Mitch Bernard (31:58):
Alarms. Yeah. You got to know every neighbor and every, I mean, you knew the names of not just the neighbors, but many of the cats they were feeding and what they looked like. And this one has, you know, a white leg and Toby doesn't or whatever, like you knew all the little distinguishing characteristics

Rachel Pehrsson (32:18):
Was Oh yeah. Because there was indoor outdoor cat that had black spots on him and he looked that Right. Otherwise looked almost identical to Toby. Yeah.

Mitch Bernard (32:27):
But the owner and those

Rachel Pehrsson (32:28):
Neighbor to

Mitch Bernard (32:29):
Their side Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (32:31):
Inside. 'cause um, they were, they were, those neighbors were like, kind of scared that I was gonna steal their cat.

Mitch Bernard (32:36):
Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (32:37):
And so they were kind of rude to me. And I, like, there was part of me that's like, I don't want an orange cat <laugh>. I want my orange cat <laugh>, like n orange cat. There's easier ways for me to go about it than yours, but I understand that like you're emotionally attached to your animal. And there was another guy looking for his and putting out traps. And so they eventually, uh, kind of warmed up to me. Um, but I remember we like begged them to like, please put, just put a collar on your cat. And they were like, he doesn't wear collars. Um, and then, so yeah. And I, I got, yeah, I got to know the neighbors. I went, I was heading off to that neighborhood driving. I'm glad I had a car. 'cause if I didn't have a car, I don't know what I would've done.

(33:28):
Yeah. But, um, I was hopping in my car and driving off to go on cat hunting. Had like, my entire trunk was just full of cat hunting supplies. I think that car smelled vaguely fish until my parents got it professionally cleaned. Wow. Um, because obviously I live in Manhattan now, so don't have a car. Um, but uh, like it smelled like I, 'cause I had the little spray bottle that you told me about mm-hmm. <affirmative> to spray in areas where I'm trying to lure him. I had, I kept the, I was buying out the surrounding area of tuna I feel like every week. And, um, I lost some laundry to various animals up there. Um, 'cause you were, you're supposed to put out your laundry. And so eventually we settled down on a couple locations, like behind that couple's house, be behind another house that had said that they'd seen like a very orange cat running around. Right. And like this old abandoned house mm-hmm. <affirmative> that was across. But unfortunately, like the old independent house was across the street from that indoor outdoor cat mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So it was like, are they seeing him or are they seeing Toby?

Mitch Bernard (34:40):
Right.

Rachel Pehrsson (34:41):
And it, we were getting to the point where like people were, even people who were initially very supportive were like changing their tune to like, trying to pro emotionally prepare me to never see him again. And like trying to kind of like ease me into the idea that like, Rachel, this is a lot of effort. Or like, you're in a, like in a very vulnerable, you're doing a master's program program. And I think if my grades had, I worked very hard to make sure that my grades did not slip. Because I think if my grades had started to slip, I couldn't have, like, it would've been very difficult for me to argue that this was healthy. Um, because this was

Mitch Bernard (35:27):
Go, this was, we were probably in like week six by now we're talking about 'cause of the, the total was

Rachel Pehrsson (35:36):
Two months. About almost two months.

Mitch Bernard (35:38):
So I feel like when we started in Mark's Yard, that was probably like around week six because it took us a little time, I think. Right. Maybe it was week seven. Maybe it was later than that. But think

Rachel Pehrsson (35:51):
Mean halfway.

Mitch Bernard (35:52):
It been

Rachel Pehrsson (35:52):
Going on for a long time. Got, that's when he saw, so he knew the cats that showed up in his neighborhood. Right. All of those people had their stray cats

Mitch Bernard (36:04):
Mm-hmm.

Rachel Pehrsson (36:04):
<affirmative>. And they knew which ones they were feeding, which ones showed up in their neighborhood. And the reason, like, what got me, I was like two weeks I think after Carmen, I, I had hired Carmen brothers and I was starting to lose hope again. And but then he, in his like backdoor camera right. Saw a cat come into his backyard who looked very timid compared to the two cats that usually stayed there and had white feet. And Toby has little white paws and Toby's white paws. And the fact that his ear was not clipped ended up being the saving grace of this whole operation because every other cat on that street had been T N R. Right. So they had the white clipped ear and Toby did not 'cause he was fixed as a pet. And then none of them had little white paws except for Toby. And so I watched that footage of Toby slinking into Mark's backyard and like sniffing at my clothes or like sniffing at the food. I think at that point so many freaking times. <laugh>,

Mitch Bernard (37:17):
Oh my God, I get so teary-eyed thinking about that.

Rachel Pehrsson (37:20):
Just think it was like a fricking during that time it was just like my lifeline was watching, like reminding myself that that little boy was out there. I, I think I remember sending you that footage like, oh my god. Yeah. Like this is real. Like that is him. Yeah. And um, and so we really started after that I think focusing on Mark's backyard. Yeah. And it was like every two weeks Right. When I was starting to get like lose hope. Yeah. We would get another sighting of him. And it's funny because like people got around the neighborhood, got really invested in this cap. Yes. People let me put up big old signs. People on Nextdoor were asking me and I don't typically use. Yeah. Um, but like people were asking me like for updates and stuff, people I did not know. Mm-hmm. People were calling me all the time giving sightings. It was like a real community effort. Definitely. And I appreciate that a lot. The only time somebody like was genuinely mean was that time we asked to put a yard sign in that person's yard and he like flipped his shit for some

Mitch Bernard (38:35):
Reason.

Rachel Pehrsson (38:35):
Yeah. I don't even remember

Mitch Bernard (38:37):
He was cussing. He Yeah. 'cause if I think at first his wife had said, yes, you can. And, and she had checked with him and he had initially said, yeah, you can put a trap here. And then he changed his mind, if I'm remembering correctly. Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (38:51):
And there was also, I think because I changed it from trap to I, I had messed up Carmen's instructions and so I had asked for to put out a trap and they said yes. And I was like, oh, I'm so sorry. Like, I messed up. I actually need to put out a sign. And he like yelled at me for like knocking on his door repeatedly. He's like, I don't want fucking sign in my yard. Right. Like, you know, like, get the fuck outta here. Like yeah. He, the dude was clearly like either drunk or something, but it was the only time somebody was just like, actively,

Mitch Bernard (39:27):
There was also the one place where someone kept taking down your poster.

Rachel Pehrsson (39:32):
That was weird. Yeah.

Mitch Bernard (39:34):
I don't remember. But, and it was

Rachel Pehrsson (39:35):
Like, I don't know why they were doing that. I dunno, they weren't taking all the, they saw, but Yeah.

Mitch Bernard (39:42):
<laugh>

Rachel Pehrsson (39:42):
People are weird. And then I did at one point get a text from somebody claiming we have your cat. And I said, really great. And they were like, you need to prove you're the owner. Click on this Google something link.

Mitch Bernard (39:56):
Oh God. Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (39:57):
And I was like, can I have a picture of him? Gimme proof that you guys have my cat. And I'm like, I'm not born yesterday. <laugh>. Yeah. <laugh>. And they were like, we need, first we need proof that you're the owner. And I'm like, that doesn't make any sense. And so I I I was like, I literally think I said like, I hope you reconsider the path you're taking in your life.

Mitch Bernard (40:16):
<laugh> <laugh>. So

Rachel Pehrsson (40:28):
<crosstalk> vulnerable,

Mitch Bernard (40:30):
We, yeah. We, we worked in Mark's, thank goodness for this guy. Uh

Rachel Pehrsson (40:37):
Oh. They were, they were letting me TRAs around their backyard, letting me put out food that was definitely anytime a attracting raccoons. But they did not care.

Mitch Bernard (40:44):
They were so nice letting us have, uh, they let us put raccoon distraction marshmallows up in the back of the yard and come in and put cameras up and just could not have been. And I think at one point, um, he was going out and feeding, uh, or bringing up the food or something. Like he was taking on some of the responsibilities of, of all of this for us because mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you, you know, neither of us lived very close.

Rachel Pehrsson (41:17):
So Yeah. And we didn't live very close. And I was also like, but deep in

Mitch Bernard (41:21):
Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (41:22):
School. Like I, there was a point where I was like, can you please put, I left a bunch of food with him. Right. And I was like, can you please put this food out? Because like I just get over there right now. Yeah. And he was so gracious about that. And like, I, I don't know what would've happened if like even one person if you hadn't been there if Mark hadn't been there and hadn't been so gracious about the whole thing. And we also had those hunting cams out Yeah. In the woods. But those, um, I think we put one of the hunting cams, we put them in various places, but his, his backyard camera ended up I think being one of the most important ones. Yeah. And um, and you know, yeah. We started putting like my dirty laundry in his backyard. <laugh>,

Mitch Bernard (42:14):
He was so nice. And then it was, yeah, it was dumping down rain and snow for, because now we're in March and we

Rachel Pehrsson (42:24):
Had, I think at that point it was, yeah, March was when he got lost. I think that was closer to late April.

Mitch Bernard (42:31):
Oh, was it? For some reason I had it shifted back a little. But anyway. Yeah. It was like we had, um, a tarp put out over the trap. Uh, yeah. That, that whole process was, was very lengthy. And the upshot is that after, um, and I'll talk on another episode about the process we went through to train Toby to go into the trap because many cats just don't wanna go in mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So we trained him to go in You chummed the area. We had sardines, we, ugh, the smell. I remember how grossed out I was by the sardines. I was like, you have to do this part. I can't do that. They have verbal eyes on them. Well,

Rachel Pehrsson (43:11):
I also think it had mackerel too, which is even worse.

Mitch Bernard (43:13):
Yes. Yeah. So nasty. Uh, and eventually we trained him to go into the trap. And I will never forget the night. Uh, we, we finally had it set and oops, my AirPod is gonna die here. Let's see. Um, so we had, uh, um, yeah. Are you okay? Sorry. I think my audio is my, so, um, we got him to go in and I remember that we knew that that was likely to be the night because we had been training him and we finally got it in and set the trap. And um, I had the camera on and we both had access to that camera's feed. And I remember, um, watching at home 'cause it tells you when there's, you know, motion. So I'm like watching and we get this clear, bright footage of him going into the trap and I'm watching and I'm like, go, go, go. Like, just like, please trip it. And I see the door slam down and I was like, text like, Ethan, we got him. And I'm like, rath over there. And he's like, you know, and by and, and you're like racing over there too. And Mark, um, had taken

Rachel Pehrsson (44:39):
<inaudible>.

Mitch Bernard (44:40):
Yeah. He, it's dumping down and we've got the tarp and everything. So he had taken the trap up to his, covered his front porch. And um, so I got there and you know, we just kind of tried to, and Mark brought out a comforter to put over top of the thing so that, you know, he was maybe a little more, um, comforted. And, uh, you got there and we were both, you know, on the porch and you came up. And so you come up the steps and you're like looking under the comforter as you're climbing up and you're like, Hey buddy. It was just a sweet, he was like, so like, like he had been very kind of closed down and as soon as you came up he was just like, you know, like, oh my God. Like I know her. I'm so excited. It was very,

Rachel Pehrsson (45:26):
Yeah. Remember that's when he, like, he saw me and he was like,

Mitch Bernard (45:30):
That's right. He finally made a noise. Yeah. He was so happy. And

Rachel Pehrsson (45:33):
He meowed, which feral cats don't really do.

Mitch Bernard (45:36):
Right. Yeah. So you took him home.

Rachel Pehrsson (45:41):
Yeah. And well, 'cause when you messaged me, I was working on my spring presentation for my capstone. That's,

Mitch Bernard (45:47):
That's right. And

Rachel Pehrsson (45:48):
I remember getting your, that message from you and you were like, he's in. And I like, mentally I'm like, I'm excited, but I'm telling myself it's another false alarm.

Mitch Bernard (46:01):
Right. Because you can't get your hopes up again. So

Rachel Pehrsson (46:03):
Many false alarms. Again, 17 feral orange caps, <laugh>. And, uh, like I, I even on the way there, I'm like, it's not gonna be him. It's not gonna be him. Don't get your hopes up. But I see him and like doesn't have tip ears. His little white paws are muddy, but I can still see them. And I'm just like, that's my baby

Mitch Bernard (46:27):
<laugh>, that's

Rachel Pehrsson (46:28):
My baby. And he lets me pet him through the, the fence. I remember. Yes. He let me scratch his chin, which is how he likes to be sc scratched. And I start crying and hug you. And yeah. And I, I, I got him in the car and I call up my parents and my parents had given up on Toby at that point. They were at the stage of like, Rachel needs to accept that this isn't gonna happen and we're not sure how we're gonna like, get her to accept that. And I was like, guess who's in my back seat? My dad's like Toby

Mitch Bernard (47:04):
<laugh> <laugh>. That's so awesome.

Rachel Pehrsson (47:09):
I, you know, take a bunch of pictures with him, share it in my, my grad school WhatsApp group. And everyone's like,

Mitch Bernard (47:16):
Yes,

Rachel Pehrsson (47:18):
There's still a welcome home. Toby Hart on a whiteboard in, uh, in like the study area from it.

Mitch Bernard (47:27):
Oh man.

Rachel Pehrsson (47:28):
Annex the Carnegie Mellon. I saw it when I was visiting this past, um, past June. But, um, my mom shares it, I think on her social media. Like my daughter found her cat, she never gave up. And she told me, she's like, I've given up <laugh>. But, um, she said that people told her like, you know, that says something about your daughter that she didn't give up. And so I always like think about that sometimes when I feel like giving up about anything else. I mean, for me, you know, I am a religious person. I, and so it was lent for a good chunk of it. And so mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I told people, like, I tried to think of it in a spiritual way where it's like, you know, you're chasing this dumb animal that doesn't know any better. That's kind of like us <laugh>

Mitch Bernard (48:20):
<laugh>.

Rachel Pehrsson (48:23):
And my, uh, and you know, <laugh>, it gave me a lot to think about, but it was, it was quite the life journey because it was an exercise in endurance.

Mitch Bernard (48:35):
Um, yeah. And it says for us, what it says a lot about is the human animal bond. You know, we say that the, the, there are many aspects that can, um, make or break whether an animal gets recovered and successfully reunited at home. And one is the animal's behavior. You know, where does it go? Does it make good decisions? Um, of course the environment. Uh, what finders do you know, if we hadn't connected with Mark and he just happened to catch this cat, he, you know, who knows? Like, I mean, Toby was microchipped so chances are he would've gotten reunited. But, you know, some finders especially with, with, well that's a long story. But anyway. Yeah. Lots of times finders don't connect with owners for one reason or another. And the other is owner behavior. A lot of owners do give up because it's psychologically very difficult to go through what you went through for two months. You know, just the false alarms, ups and downs. And, you know, you wanna give up. You know, there's, there's just times when you're like, well, there's just no way he's survived all this or there's no way that, that he's okay. Fortunately we had a good environment where we felt pretty confident that he was okay, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we knew that we attract him to this place where there were lots of people looking out for the, for the cats.

Rachel Pehrsson (50:00):
Right. I like at one point, yeah, Carmen had suggested that I ask them to time when they put out the food. Right. Because there were so many places he could eat that weren't Mark's backyard. Yeah. And that, that also helped draw him specifically to Mark's backyard. Yeah. But it was nice knowing that like by the time I got him back, he was very skinny. He was only eight and a half pounds. He usually hooks around 11 or 13. Yeah. Um, but he had worms. But like that could have happened anywhere. Um, yeah. And I, I've gotten him treated for that obviously since then. But yeah. You know, he, people were like, did he remember you? And I'm like, yeah, <laugh>

Mitch Bernard (50:40):
<laugh>. He

Rachel Pehrsson (50:42):
Was so excited to see me and as soon as he got home, he ran to his favorite high. He, he ran under my bed and was like, oh, it's my bed. And then he ran and he hopped up on his tree and was like, this is my tree

Mitch Bernard (50:54):
<laugh>.

Rachel Pehrsson (50:55):
And he, he knows his home. He was so happy to be home.

Mitch Bernard (50:59):
Yeah. And,

Rachel Pehrsson (51:00):
Um, and I was so thankful for everyone, especially you and 'cause you did not have to do what you did for me. And I really, I, I owe so much gratitude to Yeah. To the environment. Like, but also, you know, to Toby being, you know, I get sometimes frustrated that Toby's not a more social, outgoing cat. Like, he doesn't, he's not the kind of cat that walks up to a stranger and us for pets. But to be honest, like that might've helped me get him back because Yeah. He's very cute. Yeah. And if he had been friendly or somebody might've just said, well this is my cat now. Yeah. And you know, there are people who make excuses to do stuff like that and Oh

Mitch Bernard (51:44):
Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (51:44):
Um, and people always be like, well, how do you know he's not just in somebody's house? And I was like, Toby does not enter a stranger's house. <laugh>

Mitch Bernard (51:53):
<laugh>. No one can death him. There would never

Rachel Pehrsson (51:57):
Go into a house he does not know and hang out with somebody he does not know. Yeah. That is like his worst nightmare. Yeah. This whole thing happened because he was so terrified of being in re strange house.

Mitch Bernard (52:09):
Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (52:09):
Um, but he is,

(52:14):
You know, he, and he was very, he was smart. I think at one point I called up my mom sobbing was drive while driving to Wilkinsburg because the, the temperature that night was going down to like nine degrees. Yeah. And I was like, mom, he's gonna die. He's gonna freeze to death. There's no way he can survive this. Like, this is like, no clue. Like how, what is he, he's not, he's not an outdoor cat. He's just an indoor cat. He doesn't have any shelter. What am I gonna do? And she's like, he's a smart cat, Rachel, he'll be fine. I think he survived like four snowstorms.

Mitch Bernard (52:49):
Yeah. It was quite a wet and cold winter spring. Yeah. Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (52:54):
And it was like, yeah. But like he, he was gone from March to May, but there was still like subfreezing temperatures, snowstorms. It was ridiculous. Lots of rain. Um, and he still, like my mom was right. You know, he made it through. I mean, people would tell me, you know, I see this, I live in like Minnesota or something and I see the same stray cats running around all the time and cats are very resilient creatures. But I definitely don't wanna take that for granted. But I do a lot of respect for their adaptability because he is not, he does not like the outdoors. He hates the outdoors. He would never go outdoors. Yeah. If given the option, he, I think he's never, the only times he's ever had, like, I could leave a door open at my, one of my old apartments and he would just look at it and be like, why would I go through that?

(53:47):
Because that out there is big and scary and cold and I don't have food <laugh>. And the only time he's ever gone outside willingly is when he's been more afraid of a strange man indoors than the outside. And that's only happened twice. And both of it was the chimney incident and this. So, but the fact that he was able to kind of just like still survive that kind of not great weather and not great conditions just by being smart and finding what other cats were doing and figuring it out. But one thing you definitely talk to me about a lot is like, this is a proactive thing. You know, especially if your cat's lost somewhere unfamiliar, they're not just gonna find their way home.

Mitch Bernard (54:35):
Yeah.

Rachel Pehrsson (54:35):
And you have to be willing to put in the work. And I had actually reached out to somebody who had, was in a very similar situation losing their cat in a car accident. And I'd seen it on Reddit. I reached out to them via Reddit and they had told me about their experience and they found their cat after a month. And they had also used Carmen Brothers. So it turns out she's prolific. What can we say?

Mitch Bernard (54:58):
She's pretty good. Yeah, she's everywhere. She's very good. Um, but yeah, so the epilogue to all of that is, uh, at least to the mark part of the story. Um, mark and his wife separated during this process, uh, or during that period. And so it was just Mark. Um, he had been, um, the, the other two orange cats he had been feeding, uh, he had been hoping to bring inside and make, you know, pets, uh, of his own rather than kind of neighborhood community cats. And he eventually was able to do that. Um, I think they might might have outdoor access now as well. But there, you know, he has his pets and he had really been trying to do that. So he was very grateful for, um, for that, you know, the work that we did with all of that. And he learned a lot, I think. Um, I definitely learned a lot. So, uh, it was a very difficult case for lots of reasons. Um, and I think what I'm gonna do is maybe break this episode up and talk about some of the things as you get to them in the story on different episodes, because there's so much to learn from this case. Like, there's

Rachel Pehrsson (56:16):
So many. Yeah. And I was like, she's gonna have to chop this up a little bit because I kept bringing up, I would remember something and I was like, oh, this is actually kind of interesting. Yeah. Um, no, it's good. It's, I hope I didn't ramble too much, but you feel free to chop it up a

Mitch Bernard (56:29):
Not at all. I think, um, just for, um, educational reasons, I think I'm gonna break it up so that I can, you know, when you get to the piece about the signage, I can explain like, and bring up, you know, pictures of the kinds of posters that we recommend and things like, that'll be a good like learning tool. So

Rachel Pehrsson (56:47):
No, I think that's great. Honestly, like whenever I see somebody with a lost pet now I always direct 'em to that page because like, it made just such a world of difference and it's so true. And people did say to me like, I definitely saw your sign in a way. I don't typically see other people's signs.

Mitch Bernard (57:05):
Yeah. So Yeah, for sure. You did a great job. You were very good. I'm so glad that it worked out. I wish it hadn't taken two months, but I'm glad that you sent home and he's healthy and happy. Um, yeah. Well I am just gonna wrap it up here. I want to thank you Rachel and you listener <laugh> for joining me today. Uh, links will be in the show notes, which you can find, uh, along with resources for owners and finders on the show page at no place like home.buzz sprout.com. Uh, we always appreciate a rating and review on your podcast app and a follow on Facebook. If you have a question or feedback, you can contact me through Facebook or at np l h as in no place like home, mitch@gmail.com. Until next week, this is Mitch Bernard and remember to always think missing, not stray or lost. This podcast was created, hosted, produced, and recorded by me, Mitch Bernard. The opinions expressed on this show are those of the people expressing them and do not necessarily re represent the views of any other entity. Thank you so much. I'm so glad to have seen you and um, so glad

Rachel Pehrsson (58:14):
To seeing you

Mitch Bernard (58:16):
Take care and give Toby a big smooch for me.

Rachel Pehrsson (58:19):
I will.