Young Memo has endured far too much for his eight years, including the loss of his mother two weeks ago to illness.
Two Toronto police constables from 51 Division, Mustafa Popalzai and Farzad Ghotbi, decided to stop by the home of the Regent Park boy and see how he was doing.
Memo was very shy and didn’t talk to officers until they were leaving.
“He said, ‘Hey officers, can you help me find my cat?’” recalled Popalzai.
The officers realized the young boy’s cat had run away on the same day his mother had died.
“We were thinking, ‘How are we going to do this?’ We asked for a picture, thought about using social media and making posters,” said Popalzai.
The officers searched the area around Parliament Street and Dundas Street East before checking in with the Toronto Humane Society on River Street.
A handful of cats had recently been turned into the shelter, so the officers went to work armed with only a photograph and a name.
“We called the cat’s name that’s what we did. Kept calling, ‘Leo, Leo,’” said Ghotbi.
The pet didn’t have a collar and didn’t have an identification chip, making a return home difficult for the Toronto Humane Society.
Thanks to the work of the two officers, the cat was identified and returned to a happy, young boy.
“To many, the cat might just be a cat. But for him, after just losing his mother, the cat meant everything to him,” said Popalzai.
Memo, who is shy and soft spoken, said he was grateful.
“Thank you for finding my cat,” he said.