Tamara Bowen of Taneytown and “Oreo” were reunited after a five-year separation.
Written By Lisa Breslin, Photos by: Phil Grout
When Oreo lived in Taneytown, from 2004 to 2006, he was the king of his house. Always happy to please, the black-and-white feline was, as his owner, Tamara Bowen, described him, a “pet me in the right spot” kind of cat.
Oreo’s days were filled with long looks out the window, swats at everyone’s pant legs as they passed and tussles with Mya, the family’s stray barn cat. On perfect days, Oreo would snuggle up for a nap with Chloe, the family’s dog.
But Oreo’s perfect days changed drastically in 2006, when Tamara’s husband, Wes, announced that the family and Chloe would be moving to New York for a new job.
Bright lights, big city – but no kitty allowed.
Tamara, Wes, daughters, Vicky and Rachel, and Chloe said good-bye to Oreo and Mya, packed up and moved. Oreo, Tamara hoped, would enjoy a new home with a friend in Hampstead.
But Oreo had other plans.
One week after the Bowens moved to New York, Oreo struck out on his own. For five long years, Tamara and her family assumed they’d never see him again.
Fast forward to November 2011.
The Bowens were living in Carroll County again, and Tamara’s friend, Janet Conley, called to tell her to look at the Carroll County Humane Society web site, where a message asked Oreo’s owner to call.
Some time during five years on the road, probably with nights in creaky, leaky barns, Oreo got dropped off at the Humane Society. The last person who fed him lived in New Windsor.
Oreo still wore his original collar with the rabies tag. He still had courage, but he was in a bad way.
“I really didn’t think he was going to make it,” said veterinarian Bridget Zepp. “We opened up his abdomen for exploratory surgery – and then for at least three or four days we had to anesthetize him and pump his stomach. His insides had essentially stopped working.”
Zepp confesses that she had given up, but her colleagues at Carroll County Veterinary Clinic kept insisting Oreo could be saved. Tamara and Wes Bowen were certain they were on their way to the clinic to say good-bye.
But Oreo had other plans.
Oreo got his mojo back. He tore out the IVs and got hungry again. Now he is home and the Bowens still speculate about how he spent is traveling days.
“I think he walked out the door back in 2006 and told himself, ÔIf I go two blocks, I’ll find them,’” said Tamara. “Those two more blocks kept adding up. He didn’t stay anywhere long enough to call home; I think he always left to find us.”
“I offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped Oreo over the years,” Tamara added. “I can only hope that for the time that he was with someone, he brought them joy, too.”
