AUSTIN, Texas – An Austin man was reunited with his cat days after his Lyft driver took off with her still in the backseat.
Palash Pandey told KEYE that Lyft investigators found Tux on the side of the road in North Austin on Monday morning after more than 30 hours of searching.
Pandey said he took Tux to a veterinarian on Saturday afternoon because she was vomiting. When he exited the car and walked to the opposite side of the vehicle to retrieve Tux, the Lyft driver took off with her still inside.
“I am screaming stop, stop, wait, wait. And he just takes off,” Pandey told the station. “Just walking from one door to another and just doing that he started peeling off. I am running behind him banging on his doors and banging on his windows and he just takes off.”
Pandey told KXAN that he contacted the driver via the app but did not receive a reply.
He also reached out to the live support and on Sunday, Lyft told KXAN that they were aware of the incident.
Lyft’s CEO David Risher also chimed in on the search with posts on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
Risher said that drivers would see an alert with images of Tux and her carrier, along with a personalized email address used for the search.
Here’s what all riders and drivers in Austin will be seeing soon. Several good tips have come in already thx to the @lyft community. pic.twitter.com/x7qNK2Iz9s
— David Risher (@davidrisher) October 2, 2023
“One request: please don’t vilify the driver. He’s received unwarranted threats and is just as distraught as we all are,” Risher posted on X.
Pandey told KXAN that he also filed a report with police and posted flyers on social media. The Lyft driver didn’t return Pandey’s messages until three hours after he contacted police.
“He called me back saying that he doesn’t know where my cat is. He said that he had riders right out after my drop off, said that he went to pick up people right after he dropped me off,” Pandey said.
Tux was found outdoors about 1.2 miles away from the veterinarian, KEYE reported. She was unharmed and not in her pet carrier.
“How can a cat inside a carrier just get out and hide herself somewhere so close to where he dropped me off,” Pandey told KEYE.
Lyft told KEYE that they are investigating the situation and evaluating its policies to improve support in the case of future similar incidents.
“We are actively working with all involved to fully understand the situation. We must do better in how we support our community. And, we will,” Lyft posted on X, adding that they are covering Tux’s vet bills.
“Of course, we are covering vet bills. Beyond the vet bills, we’re working directly with Palash to make sure he and Tux have everything they need,” Lyft posted on X.