In March, Rodri was placed on a flight to Germany for a new life with her family. After a hard life on the streets of Crete, this little kitten deserved the comfort and protection of a home and a loving family.
The streets were rough. Rodri ended up with an eye infection that left her almost blind. Imagine a kitten lost on the streets, needing to find food and shelter each day while almost blind.
Against all odds, though, she found an angel who took her home. For the first time, she could relax and her little body could take the time to heal in peace and safety.
Then, she and her family fell prey to human negligence.
Because of human carelessness, Rodri was lost. Yes, lost! Her flight to Germany had a stopover in Athens. And somewhere between Crete and Athens, Rodri was lost.
Rodri’s family received a broken box. Empty inside. How could this have happened? The airline can claim it was an accident, but their actions, or lack of, over the last 2 months make a harder case for negligence than anything else.
Rodri’s family has done everything. They put up posters around both airports in the hope of informing fellow travellers. But the police were called and the family was ordered to remove the posters.
The family has begged the airlines and airport staff for support in finding Rodri. But they have been ignored, laughed at and warned by local police to stay away.
At one stage, an airport employee sarcastically asked why the family was so adamant about finding Rodri when there were so many cats on the street to pick!
Despite the cruel sarcasm, incompetence and disinterest from airport staff, the family has not stopped looking for little Rodri. They built an army of thousands of people on social media, and the constant pressure caught the eye of a CNN reporter who published a story on Rodri. A few more media outlets published their own stories too. The airline felt the heat and wrote some sort of letter to the family. Here it is…
At some stage, in the first week after Rodri was lost, airport management agreed, after a lot of back an forth, to place a trap box inside the airport’s baggage area to try to capture Rodri.
Instructions were given to the airport staff on how to set up the trap and for food to be placed in the box to lure the little kitten in.
Such a trap box had worked for Nerone a few days later in Spain. His family also lost their cat on a flight in Madrid. But, in this case, Iberia sprang to action to help recover the lost cat.
Airport staff, cleaners, security and flight attendants were all enlisted to help find little Nerone. Nerone’s family was immediately allowed to place a trap with food to lure Nerone in. And it worked. Within days, this lucky cat was home again and safe with his family!
As for Rodri, after a few days, the trap box provided by Rodri’s family was returned. But the family claim the trap was never activated.
Given the lack of interest shown by the airport staff and airline, the family was sceptical about their sudden gesture. So, they set a trap inside the trap by placing a sheet of paper that would have shown use (a crumple or crease of some sort) had the trap been activated! To their despair, the perfectly flat sheet of paper in the trap proved the box had not been opened.
Why?
Four months have now passed. Cats are resilient beings. They can hide for weeks, even months. They can travel long distances in search for food and shelter.
But, Rodri’s family waits in agony for a sign. Any sign.
What can we do? We can share Rodri’s story as far as we can. We can tag friends and family. I’m not in Greece or Crete. But, someone I know might know someone who is. This Summer, there will be a lot of tourists heading for Greece and Crete as usual. It’s important we make them aware of Rodri’s story.
At KindBunch, we’ll continue to expose this story however we can. We’re even featuring Rodri’s story in our Pet-Friendly City Guide for Athens.
Word-of-mouth is our greatest weapon against negligent corporations who think Rodri’s family will get bored and disappear.
By sharing Rodri’s story and tagging as many people as you can, we remind these corporations that we stand with Rodri’s family. We’re not going away.
