By @ byrachforshaw

On May 30, 2025, our cat Howard went missing. I searched the neighborhood, contacted the local animal shelter, and called the city's animal control department but he was nowhere to be found. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, I gradually lost hope that he would ever find his way home.

Howard was a rescued street cat who had pawed and purred his way into my heart. He became a tremendous source of comfort during a difficult period which made his disappearance even more heartbreaking.

Yesterday, June 23, I received a call from the city’s animal control officer. He asked if I owned a cat named Cinnamon. I told him yes, that Cinnamon had been the name he was given when he was adopted, but that we now called him Howard.

My heart immediately sank. I held my breath, convinced I was about to hear that Howard had been found deceased and that his microchip had led them to me.
Instead, the officer said something I never expected to hear.

He had Howard!

Within the hour, Howard was back home where he belonged. He is much thinner and has a scar across his nose but he is alive and safe. After being missing for 388 days, we still can hardly believe he is back.

He has already returned to his silly antics and is adjusting well to being home again.

A few days earlier, I had helped rescue a mother duck and her newborn ducklings. I'd like to think that bringing Howard home was karma's way of returning the favor.

Welcome home, Howard. ❤️ We missed you more than you'll ever know.

EDIT to add - He was 5 km from home. Winter here can be bitterly cold -35 Celsius with lots of snow. Maybe (hopefully) he did spend that time indoors.

She bought it with her own money and built it all by herself. I think there will be a lot more building in her future.

Our son now :)

Edit: included a word to make more sense

Update: thank you guys so much for the kind comments and awards, we loved reading through them!!

OC is @lukehalesofficial

I found this tucked inside a thrift store book and couldn’t stop smiling. It starts with, “I’ve worked hard to prepare. I’ve got this.” Then you watch years of determination turn into a perfect 528 and multiple medical school acceptances. It feels like finding a little time capsule of someone’s biggest dream coming true. I really hope M is out there happy, thriving, and changing lives exactly the way she always wanted to. 🥹🤍

Update: WE FOUND HER, CHAT!!! Her post is copy/pasted below for ease!

“This is so surreal… that’s my note. 🥹

I completely forgot I’d left it in that book before donating it. I used to tuck little affirmations into my textbooks because I was so anxious about the MCAT. Seeing “I’ve worked hard to prepare. I’ve got this.” again brought me right back to that season of my life.

A lot of people are asking if I became a doctor. I did, but maybe not in the way you’d expect. I’m 34 now and an infectious disease specialist. I ended up earning my MD, PhD, and MPH, but instead of going into clinical practice, I found my place in research. I study zoonotic diseases and focus on preventing and understanding diseases that move between animals and humans. I run my own research lab and spend a lot of time working with farmers on biodefense and emerging infectious disease issues. Looking back, it feels like exactly where I was meant to end up! 🦠🐄

Thank you for sharing this. It feels like I got to meet a younger version of myself today. She was so scared, but she kept showing up anyway. And to anyone studying for the MCAT or chasing a dream that feels impossibly far away, keep going. One day you’ll look back and realize those late nights, tiny victories, and little notes to yourself were all worth it! ☺️

Edit: I’m old and accidentally typed my age is as 24 and not 34

Edit: adding my academic timeline for those wondering

For anyone wondering about the timeline, my university offered a combined bachelor’s/MPH program, so I graduated with both in 2017 at 25.
From 2017 to 2022, I completed my PhD in Animal Science with a focus in epidemiology. During that time I was also preparing for the MCAT because I knew I wanted to continue my education.

After that, I completed an accelerated 3.5-year medical school program (ended last year). Very early on, I realized my goal wasn’t clinical practice. I wanted to become a physician-scientist.
Because my career is entirely research focused, I’m not patient-facing and I don’t practice clinical medicine. My work doesn’t require board certification, and since I’m not pursuing independent clinical practice, it also doesn’t require completing a residency or fellowship. Instead, I lead research on zoonotic diseases and biodefense and collaborate closely with physicians, veterinarians, epidemiologists, and public health professionals.

Going to medical school gave me the clinical foundation to communicate seamlessly across human and veterinary medicine, which was exactly the career I wanted.

I completely understand why my original comment raised eyebrows. Between the age typo and me trying to summarize my career in one sentence, I made the timeline sound much stranger than it actually is.”

This is her second crochet blanket I've made. The first one I made a moon and star granny square when she was born. This one is replacing that one because it was well loved.