Lifestyle Pets California Cat Missing for 7 Years Reunites with Owner 2,000 Miles Away in Tennessee "We like getting animals back to their rightful owners," John Welsh of Riverside County Animal Services said about helping Ebi the cat get back to her family By Stephanie Wenger Stephanie Wenger Instagram Twitter Stephanie Wenger is a TV Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE. She joined the brand in 2021 as digital news writer, spanning across the site's verticals. She previously contributed to E! Online, HollywoodLife, Discover Los Angeles, Oscar.com and Hollywood.com. She appeared on air at AfterBuzz TV. She began her journalism career as an intern at Good Morning America and Access Hollywood. She graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor's in communications and received a Master's in journalism from the University of Southern California. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 17, 2022 05:03 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SERVICES A California cat that went missing seven years ago has reunited with her owner, who now lives in Bearden, Tennessee. Owner Joe Drnec was stunned when he received a call from an animal shelter in Jurupa Valley, California, informing him that his beloved cat, Ebi — who wandered off and never returned home when Drnec lived in California in 2015 — had been found. "We never thought we would ever see her again. This is really an amazing story," Drnec said, according to a Riverside County Animal Services Facebook post. 'Lively' 30-Lb. Cat Named Sterling Finds Home After Humane Society's Cry for Help The chief of Riverside County Animal Services, John Welsh, made the trek from Southern California to Tennessee to return Ebi — an 8-year-old short-haired cat — to her owner after identifying the pet's owner thanks to Ebi's microchip. Long lost Ebi was brought to Riverside County Animal Services after someone found the pet in downtown Riverside, not far from where she went missing. RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SERVICES "We like getting animals back to their rightful owners even if they tend to be half the country away or to be more than half the country away, so it's just fun," Welsh told WATE. He paid for the trip because the shelter cannot use taxpayer dollars for personal pets, he told the outlet. Colorado Humane Society Seeking to Reunite Cat Burned from Marshall Fire with Its Owner "It took us some time to figure out what we're going to do, how to get this cat back to Knoxville. The logistics were basically me asking my wife, 'Can I do this?' " he explained. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. Welsh and Ebi flew out of Ontario, California, and landed in Nashville, Tennessee, on Feb. 16. They then drove to Bearden, a town outside Knoxville, for the reunion. Navy Officer Needs Help Bringing Home Cat She Rescued Overseas: 'He's My Security Blanket' Drnec and his wife Leanna adopted Ebi from the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center in Riverside, California. She was primarily an indoor cat but became interested in spending time outside. "She just went crazy at the door, always wanting to go outside," said Drnec, per a Riverside County Animal Services social media post. "She eventually became an indoor-outdoor cat." Ebi never returned home in 2015, and the Drnecs moved to Tennessee the same year with their Calico cat Eunice who is now 14 years old.