(Pictured above: WTOP reporter Neil Augenstein, Josh Murphy, Mauricio Martinez, George Keller, and Patrick Lutaladio, all with the Department of Public Works, and Thomas Ingle, chief of field services with the Department of Animal Services.)
When WTOP reporter Neal Augenstein’s cat went missing last week, quick action by employees with Fairfax County’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services and Department of Animal Sheltering helped bring the story to a happy ending.
On Sept. 1, Augenstein returned to the I-66 Transfer Station to meet and thank some of the employees who helped get Mike the Cat safely home.
Mike’s unexpected journey began when he apparently hid inside an old couch that Augenstein and his wife were having hauled away. By the time they realized Mike was missing, the couch had already made its way to the transfer station.
That’s where heavy equipment operator Mauricio Martinez spotted Mike while inspecting a loading hopper, where trash drops into transfer trucks waiting below the facility floor.
Raccoons and feral cats aren’t unusual sights at the transfer station, but Mike looked different. His healthy weight and well-kept coat led employees to suspect he was someone’s pet.
Mike was also in a precarious spot, so rescuers swung into action. Assistant refuse superintendent Joshua Murphy encouraged Mike into the bucket of a loader manned by lead refuse operator George Keller. Mike promptly escaped from the bucket, taking refuge in an unused bathroom beneath the facility floor.
The Department of Animal Sheltering was called, and an animal control officer responded and collected Mike.
Meanwhile, Augenstein was retracing his cat’s unlikely journey. When he learned that transfer station employees had found a cat, “You can imagine my heart skipped a beat,” he told WTOP.
Mike was soon reunited with his family at the Lorton shelter location. He was microchipped, which helps Animal Protection Police quickly identify the owner. Thomas Ingle, chief of field services with the Department of Animal Services, noted the importance of microchipping and keeping contact information up to date to help lost pets find their way home.
Augenstein’s visit to the transfer station gave him a chance to meet Martinez, Keller and Murphy and hear firsthand how they helped keep Mike safe. Scale supervisor Jose Hernandez, who also assisted with the response, was unable to attend.
After an unexpected journey from couch to transfer station to shelter, Mike is safely back home — and hopefully a little less interested in exploring the furniture.
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