Heartbroken traveler searches everyday for lost cat at LAX airport

18
205
Spread the love

When a lonely woman from Rome looked forward to beginning her new life in Costa Rica, an overnight layover at Los Angeles Airport drastically changed her fate when her constant companion and emotional support cat accidentally escaped from his travel kennel.  Jacky the lost cat

On June 14, Carla Tedeschi, 45, having  grieved over the recent loss of her mother, starting over with a new job presented exciting possibilities. Everything was set – her clothes and her memories were packed, and her therapy cat, Jacky, a brown tabby with the green and yellow piercing eyes, had been well prepared for the trip. He was micro-chipped, wore a blue plastic collar with a heart-shaped  charm engraved with his name and his owner’s phone numbers, and his travel passport was safely secured in Carla’s travel bag. Carefully placed in his travel crate for his first transcontinental flight, as Carla traveled from Rome to Costa Rica through a planned connection, an unexpected delay demanded  they all deplane and wait until the next morning to resume their trip to their new home.

Exhausted from her trip and speaking little English,  Carla’s nightmare began. When a taxi driver refused to help her with her large suitcases and the cat’s kennel and left her at the curb to fend for herself, she struggled to load her possessions onto an airport trolley. As she sat down at Terminal 7 (United Airlines) to  rest for a moment, Jacky’s carrier fell over, crashed to the ground and the frightened cat bolted. Jacky disappeared  in what seemed like a split second! Carla searched everywhere for Jacky, and as her emotions climbed to panic mode, stress took its toll; the woman suffered a seizure and was immediately rushed to the hospital.Carla Tedeschi

Nurses at the UCLA hospital assured Carla her cat was safe at a Los Angeles shelter and not to worry. All of her possessions were lost at the airport including her travel bag which had Jacky’s traveling papers. Carla believed the nurses and when released from the hospital headed to Costa Rica for followup medical therapy.

And as soon as she was physically able to return to Los Angeles, Carla came back to find Jacky. And for weeks, she has combed every shelter, every rescue and the airport calling for Jacky who she adopted from the streets in Rome. Many thanks to the Barbi twins for spreading the news. Many thanks to celebrities Morgan Fairchild and Joanna  Krupa for their love of cats and knowing how special the bonds of friendship can be with our feline companions; and not to forget the rescue organizations involved with Carla coordinating rescue efforts. In addition, thank you Sal LaBarbera, retired LA police officer and Mary Grady, media director for Los Angeles airports for tweeting about this heartbreaking story. Now if only Jacky could be found – a happy ending is what a tired woman deserves. Translated, Carla (and edited slightly for comprehension)  writes:

“Please help me to find my Jacky. Send an email to [email protected]. Maybe someone have seen this cat inside or outside the airport area. Or maybe some one adopt him from the shelters. I just want to know that my Jack is ok and still alive. Please help to realize what happen to my jacky. He is very beautiful cat and possibly somebody adopt him. Please give some information just to let me know my little Jacky is ok. Thanks everybody. And please halp me to looking for Jacky.”

The search continues – Carla has spent all of her money returning to Los Angeles and staying in motels, hoping for a miracle that Jacky is alive and well – even if someone adopted him. All she wants to  know is if her cat survived and he is fine.  For more information and how you can help find Jacky, contact  [email protected] (626) 524 5344. A $500 reward has been offered.

Please share Carla’ plight to find Jacky with rescue organizations, shelters, friends, family and social media contacts. Miracles do happen,  and sharing saves lives.

Follow the National Pet Rescue on Facebook.

(Photos courtesy of Sia Barbi)


Spread the love

18 COMMENTS

  1. I’m crying. Praying this sweet cat is safe and found. While we have thousands of people in the US dumping their pets at kill shelters like they’re nothing more than yesterday’s trash, this woman has exhausted her finances, and her emotional and physical energy, just trying to find her companion. More people need to be like her, and she is one who deserves to have her sweet cat returned to her. I think they need to publish the name of the taxi company who refused to help her. If the man had only helped, the cat – and all this woman’s belongings – would have not been lost.

    • Exactly my point.
      Carla contacted me from Costa Rica beginning of July to tell me her heartbreaking story and ask for help.she had heard I have a group on FB helping the Death row cats in NY find homes. It s Baffini e Cuccioli a NY ( Whiskers and Puppies in NY ) and help comes from all parts of the world, people sharing those sad pics and pledging to save the cats dying the next day.
      Their allotted time to find a home is 18 hrs.and in summer the lists of these poor cats can be as high as 40-50 cats nightly!

      Many are owners dump. Cats that lose everything, all those they knew and loved, their homes, and soon their lives too.
      People going overseas or moving to another State,who leave their old furniture and their..pets behind!

      Here is the case of someone who tried to beat all odds to find her beloved cat again. We spent long hours talking and looking for ways to help .Jacky is scared, shy and not ” very bright ” as Carla puts it.
      But she did not give up, she wanted to find him ,or at least know what happened to her cat.
      Now hopefully someone reading her story will be able to give her info. She s totally heartbroken now and she too deserves a new leash on life.
      Let s find Jacky!

      • Hello Bianca we met in Geneva on October 24 on the bridge Pont de la Machine and we talked for a while. You gave me your e-mail address, but now when I wrote a mail to you I couldn’t broadcast it. The e-mail address you entered is [email protected] but maybe I’m reading it wrong. Can you repeat your email address so I can send my letter to you. Best regards Anna.

  2. i hope and pray that the airlines have people to take care of the animals until there get where they need to be taking off to go with the owner.

  3. This is so sad!!! I can’t even imagine the devastation of becoming separated from a kitty in this way! I first heard about this happening from a dear friend of mine, Bianca Bellelli, on her Facebook group, Baffini y Cuccioli a NY (Whiskers and Puppies in NY). She’s been in contact with Carla…everyday since this happened!! I keep hoping she’ll give me some good news but so far nothing… ?

  4. I wish for a happy ending to this story. If someone has him, I hope he will be returned. As a cat mom also I don’t know what I would do if my baby disappeared. I hope he is still alive!

  5. I was a pilot based at LAX and used to go into the “bowels” of the airport, e.g. the baggage conveyor belts. I would often see “checked” animals in that environment. NEVER SEND YOUR ANIMALS as if they are a piece of luggage.

  6. Hey this is the lady who messaged the cat page I help on and she was having trouble explaining herself to me and then she said she speaks Italian and was having trouble explaining herself as I was asking her questions on what happened. That’s when i put her in touch with my friend Bianca Bellelli because I knew she spoke her language and could speak to her and find out what she was trying to tell me. I know this poor lady was so distraught by the way she was telling me she lost her cat and i felt so bad for her that I was glad that Bianca was able to speak with her and find out exactly where she lost Jackie and all the details. I know Bianca has made a lot of effort in helping this poor lady locate her cat and I am hoping she will find her again. I am very surprised that nobody in this article has mentioned all the 3 or so weeks that Bianca has helped behind the scenes as I know she was doing it because she kept me posted on the progress from the beginning since I was the one who first told her about Carla. I only expected her to just find out what she wanted in Italian, and give her a few pointers. But she went over and beyond the call of duty to get help on the way. I really didn’t expect this to turn into such a huge search but am glad that so many people got on board to help. I can’t imagine how upset that Carla has been as I would be frantic myself if I lost my cat like this. Maybe the cat was taken home by someone who doesn’t know that someone is looking for him? Hoping for good news soon.

  7. Normally I don’t learn article on blogs, but I would like to say
    that this write-up very compelled me to check out and
    do it! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thanks, quite nice post.

  8. @Anna Fors , it would be easier for me if you d post your own email here, so I can contact you. I do remember our chat, as you were only staying a short time in Geneva on your way to a holiday in a sunny spot! Best to you, Bianca

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here