Cat reunites with owners 49 days after condo explosion, dies in their arms

    ORION TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WXYZ) -- A young married couple is mourning the loss of their beloved cat Ambrose. He survived several weeks outside before Orion Township firefighters found him in the rubble left behind the explosion at Keatington New Town Condominiums.

Sadly, Ambrose died the same night he was found.

“They had taken him to Orion Animal Hospital, which is just up the road from the condo, and they scanned the microchips and let me know it was him," Drake Falconer said.

The November 2024 explosion at the condominium complex injured several people and destroyed some units. Many residents' pets ran away during the chaos.

Drake Falconer described finding Ambrose alive as a miracle. Falconer and his wife Nina had been looking for him every day for seven weeks.

“At a certain point after so many weeks, you’re just thinking in your mind that he’s gone, so the overwhelming feeling of wow, he’s alive, what can we do, what’s the next steps, is he going to make it, that was a lot in the moment," Drake Falconer said.

Unfortunately, the emotional reunion was short lived. Ambrose ended up dying in the young couples' arms the very same night he was found.

“If we loved him like we said we loved him, we don’t want him to suffer — and if we were going to try to continue with medicine, it would’ve been a long rode back and it wouldn’t have been for his benefit, it would have been for my wife and I’s," Drake Falconer said.

Drake Falconer told me that he believes Ambrose waited for him and his wife to say goodbye.

“My mom said to me, and talking to people, that maybe God led him home just to know, because he knew that we needed it and I did need to know what the situation was with him. So having that moment, got to hold him, he had moments where he was coming in and out, but there was a moment where he picked his head up and he was able to recognize me," Drake Falconer said.

The goodbye was bittersweet Drake Falconer said. He still has hope that they are going to find their other cat Fergus, who also went missing after the explosion.

"We have some leads on him. We’re still going out and searching for him but obviously, a big hole left in our hearts from him being gone," Drake Falconer said.

If you spot the orange tabby that is pictured above, you are asked to contact 248-505-1815.