Bradford, Vt. — Zippy the cat has been found.
The Siamese kitty, who was home alone Thursday evening when Marianne O’Malley’s home on Route 5 was destroyed in an explosion, was discovered today, Bradford fire officials told the Valley News this afternoon.
The cat was located in an upstairs bedroom.
Officials believe the explosion was caused by a gas leak from within the building, located across the street from Oxbow High School.
Neighbors had been on the lookout for Zippy for the past four days after O’Malley, who was on vacation in Maine at the time of the explosion, lost her home of 19 years and most of her belongings.
“I’m hoping he’ll peek his head out of the bushes,” she told the Valley News on Friday.
The Bradford Fire Department posted a photograph of O’Malley holding Zippy on its Facebook page about noon today.
“Bradford firefighters along with insurance company investigators have found and safely reunited the homeowner from the Upper Plain home explosion with her precious cat Zippy!” officials said in the post. “Not all tragedies have a happy ending, but this is one we surely are happy to be a part of.”
Posted online Monday at 12:40 p.m.