WHEN Kitty the Jack Russell went missing from her Hull home, owner Nicky Windsor feared she would never see her beloved pooch again.
But, a day later, Nicky received a phone call saying eight-year-old Kitty had been found – on the third floor of Hull Royal Infirmary.
The exact route Kitty took on the journey from her home over two miles away off Newland Avenue, to the hospital in Anlaby Road remains a mystery, but Nicky was delighted to be reunited with her pet.
She said: "It was about 9.30pm on Sunday night when I noticed Kitty was missing.
"It was really warm on Sunday, so we had the door open into the garden to let some air in.
"We have a back gate but the wind must have blown it open and Kitty must have escaped through there."
Nicky searched frantically in the street for Kitty but she was nowhere to be seen.
She then turned to Facebook to ask people to keep an eye out for her.
Nicky said: "People said they would keep a look out for Kitty, but the next day, I could not believe it when I got a phone call from the dog warden saying she had been found on the third floor of Hull Royal Infirmary. I was shocked.
"How she got there is a total mystery. She must have walked all the way from our street to the hospital. It is a fair trek – I don't think she has ever walked that far."
A man who was visiting his wife and their new baby at Hull Royal Infirmary discovered Kitty on the third floor.
The man approached the hospital security guards, who did not know what to do with the animal, so he decided to call the council's dog warden.
Kitty was taken to an animal care centre, where she was scanned for a microchip.
Animal warden Chrissie Cooper then contacted Nicky with the good news that Kitty had been found safe and well.
Chrissie said: "Strangely enough, we do get some odd circumstances of dogs being found in unusual places.
"About two years ago we had a dog that came on the train from Doncaster to Hull.
"However, it certainly is a complete mystery how Kitty got to the hospital. She has walked a fair distance."
Nicky was delighted to be reunited with Kitty on Monday.
She said: "We got Kitty when she was a puppy – funnily enough from an advert we saw in the Hull Daily Mail.
"She is absolutely nuts. She never stops barking but we love her. She is part of the family.
"I don't know what we would do without her."
Since her journey, Kitty has been at home getting a well- deserved rest.
Nicky said: "She was very tired when she returned home. She didn't eat for two days, but she is gradually getting back to her normal self after her adventure."
Get your pet chippedTHE British Veterinary Association is urging cat and dog owners to mark National Microchipping Month this year by checking their pet is chipped and its details are up to date.
Microchipping, which helped reunite Kitty with her owner, is a safe and effective way to permanently identify a pet and, through registration on a data- base, the animal can be linked to its owner and quickly reunited if it goes missing.
Microchipping of dogs is set to become compulsory in Wales from March next year and in England from April 2016.
Chrissie Cooper, animal warden for Hull City Council, said: "We were able to reunite Kitty with her owner because she was microchipped.
"We would urge dog owners to get their animals chipped in case anything like this happens to them."
To get a pet chipped, call the council on 01482 300300.
• Family news and advice from the Hull Daily Mail
