Staffers at a Virginia Lowe's store are celebrating after their beloved store cat Francine was found in another state following a search that stretched more than two weeks.
"We were so elated. I mean, we were just like, it was almost a miracle," Wayne Schneider, a department supervisor for the Lowe's West Broad Street store in Richmond, Virginia, told Lowe's.
Francine is a fixture at the Lowe's store and is a favorite among employees and customers alike.
"She's been here nine years," Schneider said. "She is one of our top employees. I mean, she gives you no trouble. You know, she's never been written up."
Dianne Jackson, a Lowe's customer, added, "When you come here, you look for her, if you're a regular."
In mid-September, Francine went missing, and the local Richmond community came together to search for her, starting an Instagram account called "WheresFrancine," which attracted more than 30,000 followers.
The campaign to facilitate Francine's return went viral.
"The community got involved when they found out, 'cause we really didn't know at first where she was. We thought maybe she was hiding," Schneider said.
After staffers checked the store's cameras, they saw Francine had wandered into the back of a delivery vehicle that was en route to a distribution center in Garysburg, North Carolina, roughly 85 miles away.
"I was pretty confident that we would find Francine," said Mike Sida, a Lowe's store manager. "It was just gonna be a matter of time. It was kinda gonna be on her terms, so we had to just be patient."
Searchers posted flyers, used thermal drones, set up several humane traps, and scoured footage from the 246 distribution center cameras before Francine was caught after more than two weeks.
Francine's long-awaited return means the Richmond Lowe's store team is finally complete once again.
"Yeah, we're glad to have her home," Sida said.
Francine has since been gifted a fashionable new harness, complete with a tracking tag.
