Pet Owners Praise 'Power of a Microchip' After Reuniting with Lost Cat 5 Years Later

“It is a miracle that he walked up to these two women who were in rescue," said owner Cindy Hall

A Nevada couple has called the discovery of their cat in Arkansas "a miracle" — five years after the feline first went missing.

Cindy and Jeff Hall received a phone call in March that their Russian Blue cat Sam was discovered at a gas station in Arkansas, Cindy told local NBC affiliate KARK.

Two women found Sam at the location and brought him to Jacksonville Animal Hospital. Using the information from Sam's microchip, the women contacted the animal rescue where the Halls initially adopted him when he was just 12 weeks old, PAWSitively Cats.

The women, according to a post from the rescue on Facebook, were part of the Alone 2 Home pet transport crew and were transporting two dogs at the time of Sam's discovery.

“We had him for seven years and then one day he got out,” Cindy told the outlet of her family's pet. “It is a miracle that he walked up to these two women who were in rescue."

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Cindy also told KARK that PAWSitively Cats then called her and Jeff directly. She described the moment as a "beautiful story" and added that reuniting with her cat — whom they had owned for seven years before his disappearance — was "surreal."

"This story just can’t underestimate the power of a microchip," she said. "We are so grateful for everyone that was involved.”

The cat, now 12 years old and weighing 21 lbs., had his journey documented by PAWSitively Cats on Facebook, where the organization first posted about Sam (who previously went by the name Luke) earlier this month. The rescue wrote that when Sam first escaped from the Hall residence, "someone picked him up and failed to look for his home."

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PAWSitively Cats then got a message on March 22 that the microchipped cat had been found in Brinkley, Ark., before contacting the family. The feline received "the royal treatment at the Jacksonville Animal Hospital in Little Rock" in the meantime. Alone 2 Home then again assisted with Sam's travels back home, as the Halls departed from Nevada to meet up with him.

"Once again, we will do everything possible to be sure our cats are safe and can get back home if that is what is best for them," the rescue wrote on Facebook.

"They are safe for life with us, one way or another as long as PAWSitively Cats can continue. You make that possible by donating and sharing our cats' stories. It really does take a whole community to save lives," it added.

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The Alone 2 Home pet transport crew also posed for photos and provided additional updates with PAWSitively Cats, before the shelter updated followers on Sam's safe return home.

"Sam was joyfully reunited with his family this morning," the organization wrote in a later post. "They are on their way home to Nevada now where Sam will join the rest of the family: cats, dogs and human sisters."

Speaking to KARK, Cindy noted that "having [Sam] home makes our family feel complete."

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