SPECIAL TO THE PVT Mama looks as if she just wants to get home to her owners, Joanne and Doug Locke, who had searched for her since the FLOCK sanctuary was seized in late July and the feline disappeared. Last week the refugee was scanned and her microchip led back to her family, who were quick to re-acquire the pet. Advertisement

Last summer, Doug and Joanne Locke, of Las Vegas, rescued a tortoiseshell cat and her seven kittens. Although they were able to place the kittens into loving homes, the Lockes felt as though the mama cat, duly named Mama, was still wild.

So they decided to take the cat to the For Love and Cats and Kittens (FLOCK) sanctuary here on Bond Street.

Last July the Lockes learned about the facility being taken over by Nye County Animal Control due to the horrible conditions there.

Hearing reports of the over 700-plus cats, many of whom were found starving, dehydrated, or ill, the couple rushed out to the sanctuary in an effort to find Mama.

The sanctuary, which has since been taken over by the Best Friends Animal Society, was unable to locate Mama at the time.

Although Best Friends has made a good deal of progress in scanning, registering, and cataloguing the hundreds of cats in the facility, many of them are still frightened of human contact and have not entered the buildings where the rescue workers are keeping them.

So it wasn't until last week that Mama was scanned and her microchip led her back to the Lockes, who came to the facility at 2 p.m. last Tuesday to get her.

They will be working with Best Friends to learn techniques and continue to work with her so that she might be adopted.