Bean is an indoor cat adopted two years ago as a kitten from Second Chance Animal Rescue in Oak Bluffs by my son and his family. They decided to bring Bean on their Vineyard vacation this year. After five days, Bean became Beany Houdini.

Shortly after 10 a.m. on August 15 the family went to bed. When they awakened the next morning, Bean was nowhere to be found. He had escaped through the air conditioner. We all began scouring the neighborhood around Alpine and Hudson avenues in Oak Bluffs.

We asked our next door neighbor and she said she had opened her sliding glass door and a black cat had run into her house. The cat was scared and climbed up on the cabinets. Our neighbor was scared too and called animal control. They arrived and captured Bean, who was terrified. He was put into the vehicle and transported to the Animal Health Care veterinarian at the airport.

Somehow, after the car was parked at the vet’s office, Bean escaped out the back of the vehicle and bolted out into the night, six and a half miles from his Alpine avenue home. Thus began the longest 12 days of our lives.

Second Chance put out the word on three internet sites, calls and visits were made to all the businesses at the airport, we blanketed the Island with hot pink flyers, both newspapers ran ads with a photo. But as the days passed, hope faded.

After about six days the sightings started. We followed up every credible lead, returned every phone call and thanked everyone for their help and caring. Then on day 12, Monday, August 27, as I was leaving my volunteer work at Felix Neck, a text came in from Kym at Second Chance. There had been a sighting posted on Facebook by a woman whose dad had seen a cat matching Bean’s description in an open shed behind the Sharks’ baseball field.

The directions were perfect. Cautiously we approached the row of sheds, and began calling Bean’s name. We heard a meow, and there at the doorway of the last shed stood Beany Houdini, tail in the air and talking up a storm. Twenty-six hours later Bean was safely back at his home in Northfield. He was vet checked and found to be in good shape from his ordeal. He was two and a half pounds lighter, had a significant scratch under one eye, no animal bites, ticks or fleas, coat still pretty shiny, and just as sweet as ever.

Bean had traveled about halfway home, three and a half miles from the airport to the field at the high school in 12 days. He had another three miles to go but was on a direct course to Alpine avenue.

There are not enough words to tell all the fine Vineyard people how special you are. We will be forever grateful to all of you for helping bring our Bean home.

Dan, Alyssa, Tucker, Betsy and Bill Llewelyn

Oak Bluffs