THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 3, 1996 TAG: 9601030042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
W.R. SKELLEY JR. of Virginia Beach dropped me a line a few days before Christmas. He suggested that I write about a lost item that had appeared in the newspaper's classified ads.
The item was a lost cat named Pickett.
``The people who lost the cat have done extensive classified advertising for months,'' he wrote.
He enclosed a copy of the ad, which included a photo of Pickett. Great looking cat. Black with white paws and white on its face and stomach. A male, neutered, declawed, short-haired cat with no collar.
The ad said a $500 reward was offered for Pickett's return.
``What a wonderful gift if the paper could give them a feature story between Christmas and New Year's,'' Skelly wrote.
When I phoned Skelley, I mentioned that if we wrote about every kitty that got lost, we'd do nothing else.
``But this one is special,'' he replied. ``That ad has been running for a very long time.''
I told him I'd think about it.
But it didn't take long. When I talked with our folks in classified advertising, we figured the ad for the lost Pickett has been running since early August.
``It's safe to say that nobody here can remember an ad for a lost cat running that long,'' said advertising manager Patty Garrett.
I reached Pickett's owner, Debbie Tyler, at her home on River Forest Road in Virginia Beach.
She said her husband, Roy, was taking Pickett from the car to their home when the cat slipped from his arms and ran.
``We haven't seen Pickett since,'' she said. The Tylers had two cats. Pickett was the extrovert.
The Tylers have no children. Their cats are like children to them. Pickett usually slept at the foot of their bed. Debbie got a catch in her throat when I asked her to describe the cat's personality.
``Pickett used to do lots of tricks,'' she said. ``He would do gymnastic tricks, flips and things, on our French chairs. And he played ice hockey with the ice cubes my husband tossed him.''
Since the cat disappeared, the Tylers have been running up bills at places other than the newspaper. ``We went to the printer right after the cat disappeared,'' Debbie said. ``We put 3,000 missing-cat fliers on the doors of homes and apartments.
``And about 1,500 posters on posts and phone poles.''
But so far, no luck.
``We get crank calls and lots of calls from people who think they might have found Pickett but haven't,'' Debbie said. ``I've been to at least two hundred homes looking at cats.''
The Tylers spent several hours a day looking for Pickett during the first weeks after his disappearance. And they - or a friend - continue to check regularly at the Virginia Beach SPCA.
Not having the cat's company is bad enough, ``but it's awful to think of him possibly being out there all alone, confused and hungry,'' Debbie said, sighing. She sounded like a bereaved mother.
When I went to the Tyler home to pick up a photo of Pickett, Debbie's sister, Pamela King, showed me the other cat, Nutty. Nutty, a black cat, was in the bedroom, curled up on the bed, staring out a window.
``She stares out that window all the time, looking for Pickett,'' Pamela said.
There was a feeling of emptiness about the house. ``People say it's not like losing a child, but it is,'' Debbie explained, her voice quavering. `If you lose one of your children, you don't say that it's nothing to worry about because you have another.''
If you can help, please phone 340-7484 or ask for Debbie at 651-6513. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Pickett has been missing since August...
by CNB