Cat reunited with owner after 10 years thanks to microchip

A New Jersey family has been reunited with their cat Asa after a decade apart when the missing pet was brought into an animal shelter and scanned for a microchip.

Montclair Township Animal Shelter staff discovered the cat's owner information remained current when they scanned the microchip, leading to what the shelter described as "the call every shelter dreams of making."

Owner Sean Haberle recounted how Asa escaped through a loose screen window ten years ago and crawled into an outside drainpipe. While attempting a rescue using a ladder, Haberle fell and the frightened cat bolted, disappearing completely.

The family tried everything - posters, calling shelters, searching streets - but eventually moved to New York's Finger Lakes region, always keeping the microchip information updated.

Haberle said he and his son had wondered about Asa's fate just a month earlier. When the shelter called, his first reaction was disbelief: "Is this a scam?"

The shelter emphasized the reunion demonstrated why microchip registration and updated contact information prove crucial for lost pets. Asa remained in good health and cooperative during the scanning process that enabled the decade-long separation to end.