Harper House recently, and quite unexpectedly, took part in the tale of a calico cat. She was seen wandering around our building on Walnut Hill Lane. An artic front was closing in, so we decided to rescue her from the bitter cold. Even though we brought her in to keep her warm, it didn’t take her long to warm the hearts of our employees.

The cat didn’t come with any identification tags, so we named her Cleo. And we knew she wasn’t a stray because of the pink soft paws covering her claws. With this, our Assistant Controller, Judy Clark, went to work searching the Internet for lost cat ads while contemplating a “found” ad of our own. Judy finally searched out a posting on Craigslist for a lost white calico female with spots. Included in the post was a picture of the missing cat. She had found Cleo’s owners.

We soon learned that Cleo had an exciting journey before finding her way to our door. She was adopted from a local SPCA shelter as a kitten and given the name Pepper. While her owners were vacationing, their apartment was broken into and Pepper slipped away. Four weeks and five miles later, Harper House employees adopted and, to put it plainly, spoiled her with food, toys and lots of attention.

After a two-week stay, Pepper was finally going home. We were sad to see her go – some more than others – but it was for the best. “We’re all animal lovers,” said Chip Harding, President and COO of Harper House, “we just want what’s best for them.” A generous $250 reward was donated to Operation Kindness in the name of Pepper Cleo.

Safely back at home, Pepper is resting with her owners Kevin Burbe and Haley Jensen.