Robbie Rotten returns

Robbie Rotten hasn’t always been the easiest cat.

“He actually was named that because when he was at the school, he was a little bit of a jerk -- in the best way though that cats could be -- they have their personalities,” says his owner, Melissa Zizek.

Zizek adopted the black and white troublemaker in 2017 when she was training to be a veterinary technician at that school in Grand-Prairie, Alta.

Back in June, the family moved from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia, Zizek and her youngest son flew and her husband and their oldest son drove.

When they got to their hotel in Medicine Hat, Robbie Rotten, living up to his name, made a run for it when they were unloading their luggage.

“Robbie Rotten did a loop-de-loop, scratched him and was gone, and so they spent all night trying to find him, trying to catch him,” Zizek says.

With a deadline to meet in Nova Scotia, the difficult decision was made to leave their pet behind. Melissa used a blitz on social media to alert people about the missing cat. Last week Robbie was found and a microchip confirmed it was him.

After a checkup at the vet, the challenge became getting him home.

“The one lady is flying today from Calgary to Halifax, and then the other lady yesterday, drove him from Medicine Hat to Calgary,” says Zizek.

The person that made the 6-hour round-trip drive is Carrie Longbottom.

“My girlfriend just happened to be flying to Nova Scotia so I called her and I said, ‘Carol, when are you leaving?’ She said Monday and I said, ‘I need you to take a cat,’” recalls Longbottom.

“Gratitude is not a big enough word. There is not a word for what I feel right now,” says Zizek.

Robbie Rotten and his escort were expected to land in Halifax Monday evening.

“It’s the best Christmas ever, he’s a Christmas miracle to be honest, a Christmas miracle,” Zizek says.

One that wouldn’t have happened without the kindness of strangers.