Sam Amico
A couple from Alaska lost nearly everything when their home collapsed into a river following a massive flood, and the list of items included their cat.
Videos by Rare
Still, homeowner Elizabeth Wilkins was hoping that somehow, someway their black-and-white cat, named Leo, managed to survive. According to Wilkins, Leo isn’t even afraid of bears, which often roam the land in Alaska.
“I knew that he’s pretty smart, and so I felt pretty confident that he would escape and be OK somewhere,” Wilkins said, via The Associated Press.
Well, guess what? Twenty-six days after the home went into the river, a picture of Leo surfaced on the Juneau Community Collective Facebook page,
Wilkins rushed to the home of the woman who posted the picture.
“I just started walking down the street calling for him, and he just ran out and was like, ‘Oh hey, here I am, you know, like, where have you been?’ ” Wilkins said of the reunion with Leo.
Per the AP:
“The river flooding was caused by a major release of water from Suicide Basin, a Mendenhall Glacier -dammed lake in Juneau, that eroded the river bank.
“Wilkens and her partner, Tom Schwartz, moved into the home shortly before the flood hit, but they were away on a mountain biking trip to Bend, Oregon.
“Friends called and sent videos, warning their house was in danger of being washed away.”
And washed away it was, or at least much of it. A viral video of their home (below) showed as much.
Once Leo resurfaced, Wilkins said she noticed he was still in good health. Apparently, he had four cans of tuna and “went outside to kill a little mouse,” Wilkins said, helping him survive.
“It’s super joyful because everyone in their community was looking for him, and it’s nice to have some good news,” she said.
