Couple crossed Atlantic to adopt cat

HARRISON, Mich., May 18 (UPI) -- A London couple said they became so enamored with a cat they saw online that they traveled 3,900 miles to Michigan to adopt him.

Rose and Chris Rasmussen said they were searching for black and white cats online about seven months ago when they came across the adoption ad for Sparky, a cat at the Clare County Animal Shelter in Harrison, Mich., the (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) Morning Sun reported Monday.

The couple said they could have had the feline shipped to his new London home, but during Sparky's required six-month quarantine in Britain after his rabies vaccination the Ramussens decided they should escort the new addition to their family back across the Atlantic in person.

Clare County Animal Control Director Dave Gendregske said staff at the shelter had come to think of Sparky as their unofficial mascot. He said the cat's adoption was a "great conclusion" to his story.

"It's definitely uplifting for us to have these animals adopted," he said. "This was a special adoption."