After returning home from work that evening, Roman stepped into her backyard, and there was Sukie, hanging out in the neighbor's backyard. Roman whistled and chatted at Sukie, who loped around the front of the house and met Roman again in her backyard.

This time, Sukie hopped into Roman's lap while she read a book, Roman recalled. That was a key indicator that this cat was something more charismatic than the alley variety. About a half-hour later, Sukie took off. But she continued showing up around Roman's house for the next few days, which prompted Roman to ask a local veterinarian to check Sukie for an identification microchip embedded under her skin.

The vet agreed and Roman caught Sukie, which was about as easy as whistling. At the vet's office, a surprised Roman found that Sukie was a long way from home—622 miles straight overland, 840 miles by roads. At the time, Aug. 8, the oldest of the Roman family's three cats, 14-year-old Petey, was gravely ill.

Sukie's microchip provided contact information for her owners, Jennifer McMillan, her husband, Les Frye, and their sons, Ben and Aaron. Roman phoned them, then e-mailed Sukie's photo to the family, who determined it was their long-lost feline friend.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, how in the world did she get to Chicago?' " Frye recalled. "I just couldn't believe we made the connection."

After consulting about the best way to take Sukie home, both families agreed that Ben, 20, would take a flight Aug. 13 to O'Hare International Airport. Roman, her husband, Jim, and son Sam met him there. Tricia shuttled Sukie into Ben's carrier, and they boarded a return flight.

"It just felt like everyone was home," Jennifer McMillan said Tuesday. "Like our family was complete. I swear she purred for 24 hours."

Last August, when Sukie failed to come home for a couple of days, McMillan and her family scoured the neighborhood. A local lumberyard employee told them that Sukie had approached a woman in a green Toyota who lifted the cat into the car and disappeared.

Although their hope had waned, the family held on to Sukie's toys, food and other belongings. Their African Gray parrot kept squawking Sukie's name. When Roman contacted them, the family didn't hesitate to spend the $400 airfare for their cat's return.

"There aren't that many times in life when you have a regret and you can do something about it," McMillan said. "I spent a year missing that cat. Four hundred dollars is nothing."

The episode has inspired Roman, who said she would like to start a non-profit organization to help lost pets find their way home.

It also was therapeutic. Petey died a day after Roman took in the stray cat. The loss would have been much more painful had it not been for Sukie, Roman said.

"She was my angel," Roman said. "She was helping me get through losing my Petey. By focusing on getting her back together with her family, it kept my mind off my own loss."

tgregory@tribune.com
Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune