Pierre the cat. (Southwater Vets via SWNS)
By Ed Chatterton and Megan Jones
A French cat has been reunited with his owner after he hitched a ride on a truck in Italy and ended up 1,200 miles away in the middle of Britain.
The adventurous feline hopped onto the back of a HGV before traveling across three countries and seven English counties over a 12-month period.
His epic international journey eventually came to an end when he was found in the haulage truck at a warehouse and dropped off at Southwater Vets in Telford, Shrops.
Dubbed “Pierre” by the team, he has returned home safely this week after his owners in Calais were traced through his microchip.
Rachel Harvey, practice manager at Southwater Veterinary Group, said staff used Google Translate to inform Pierre's owner he had been found.
She said: “It was quite a surprise to have Pierre brought into reception, with no idea where he’d come from or how he’d snuck his way into the HGV.
“Fortunately, he was microchipped and we learned he was registered to a French database.
"After some digging, Pierre’s owner was traced and we managed to speak with her using Google Translate.
(Southwater Vets via SWNS)
"It turns out he’d been missing for over 12 months from his home near Calais.”
After his 1,200-mile journey through Italy, France and across the English Channel, the stowaway cat - whose real name was Ushuaia - spent two weeks in isolation at the vets.
Owner Nicole Souillard said she was thrilled to hear her pet was still alive after a year and made plans to travel to the UK to be reunited with him.
Pierre then spent two more weeks quarantined in Dover before Nicole was able to collect him and take him home.
Rachel added: “This is the happiest ending we could have hoped for, for such an extraordinary story.
"Pierre is safely back home in France with his family, none the worse for his travels and certainly with a tale to tell his friends.
“This is fantastic proof of the importance of microchipping your pets and updating those details if your address changes.
"If Pierre, or should I say Ushuaia, hadn’t been microchipped, the outcome likely would not have been the same.”
During his time at Southwater Vets, Pierre remained in quarantine and received treatment for an abscess under his chin and an ulcer.
Rachel added: “He didn’t seem to mind his new surroundings and he settled nicely into his routine of wound cleaning, medication, and of course, cuddles.
"There was a hint of sadness among the team when he began his return route as we’d grown to love his company.”
