Man Finds Stray Kitten During Smoke Break at Airport, Then DoorDashes a Carrier to Bring Him Home
Virgil Wiebe with his new kittenCredit: NBC Chicago/Youtube
Minnesota resident Virgil Wiebe was taking a smoke break outside Chicago’s O’Hare Airport when a tiny orange kitten unexpectedly approached him
With his flight approaching, Wiebe ordered a pet carrier and kitten formula through DoorDash before paying $150 to bring the kitten aboard
The kitten, estimated to be just 3 weeks old, now has a permanent home and a name inspired by the unusual circumstances of his rescue
A Minnesota man’s smoke break at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport turned into an unexpected rescue after a tiny orange kitten came running toward him.
Virgil Wiebe had already missed a connecting flight and was waiting out a lengthy delay when he stepped outside Terminal 1 to smoke a cigar. While sitting near a small park outside the airport, he was approached by a stray kitten who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, according to NBC Chicago.
“He sort of appeared out of nowhere,” Wiebe told the outlet. “I already missed one flight, and I figured, well, I might be missing another one.”
The kitten, estimated to be just 3 weeks old, was wandering around the busy airport without any sign of its mother. Wiebe searched the nearby bushes, thinking the animal might have been born there, but he couldn’t find another cat.
Rather than leave the little orange kitten behind, Wiebe picked him up and headed back toward the terminal to see whether anyone could help him figure out how to get the animal home.
He soon discovered that traveling with an unexpected feline passenger wasn’t something airport employees encountered every day.
“The TSA agent had no idea what to do, said they never seen a stray at the airport,” Wiebe recalled. “They tried to be helpful, said ‘You’re gonna need a kennel.’ ”
With his next flight getting ready to board, Wiebe had little time to find the supplies he needed. Instead of leaving the airport to shop for a pet carrier, he turned to DoorDash and arranged for a kennel and kitten formula to be delivered directly to him.
Meanwhile, United Airlines helped him add the kitten to his reservation so the two could make the trip back to Minnesota together. Wiebe said the airline charged him $150 for the additional passenger, and he was able to board with his new companion.
The kitten’s unexpected arrival also inspired a name that Wiebe is unlikely to forget.
He decided to call him Macanudo O’Hare, combining the name of the cigar he had been smoking during their first encounter with the airport where they met. The little cat also goes by Harry for short.
It’s unclear how such a young kitten ended up outside O’Hare, one of the busiest airports in the world, or how long he had been on his own before approaching Wiebe.
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But what could have been another frustrating moment in an already complicated travel day ended with the kitten finding a permanent home.
Wiebe, who hadn’t planned on adopting a pet during his trip, told NBC Chicago that the unusual circumstances of their meeting made the experience even more special.
“He’s just a joyful little thing, and it’s so coincidental how it all happened,” he said. “Who knows where Harry came from, but now he’s ours.”
Source: Nature
