A Peterborough couple is elated after their cat, who disappeared for more than two months, was found and returned home this week.

Dennis and Lori Thompson say their cat Victor disappeared in early November after he failed to return home from one of his regular jaunts outside.

“He had a habit of going out the front running around the house, on the deck and want to come in the patio door,” said Dennis. “He didn’t do it this time.”

On Tuesday, the couple received a phone call from Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital. Staff said a woman named Kristina found Victor in her backyard, more than a kilometre from the Thompsons’ west-end home.

“I was really shocked, surprised, stunned — you name it,” said Lori. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

The animal hospital located a microchip in the cat which led them to identify the Thompsons as his owners.

Victor was approximately four pounds lighter but was no worse for wear after being on the lam for 69 days.

“I was not happy, I did a lot of crying,” said Lori. “I didn’t let [Dennis] know I was crying. [It] still hurts. I kept saying to my friends ‘I know he’s somewhere I don’t know where.’”

And Victor wasn’t the only reunion for the Thompsons this week.

Dennis is a former Peterborough OPP sergeant who lost his vision while in the line of duty in May 1991 after he was shot in the face and chest while intercepting a reported stolen cab on Television Road.

On Friday, retired OPP constable Dave McNab joined Global Peterborough at the animal hospital where he reunited with his former colleague (and whom he served under) for the first time in a decade.

McNab’s wife Kristy Hiltz, a longtime veterinarian, opened Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital in 2009.

“When I heard the story, one of the best parts was that it happened to somebody so deserving,” said McNab. “Dennis and Lori are fantastic people.”

The Thompsons hope their story inspires other pet owners to get their pets microchipped — an identification tag which goes underneath the skin that connects the animal to their home.

“The most important part is that people who find stray animals should take them to either their local vet or to the Humane Society and have them scanned to see if there is one and that way they can be returned to their owners,” he said.

Thompson joked that Victor’s outdoor freedom might come to an end.

“I’m going to get him fitted for cement shoes so he can’t run,” laughed Thompson.

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