Editor’s note: Former Orcas Vikings soccer coach Chama Anderson was in a serious car accident in June and suffered numerous injuries. A youcaring.com site has been set up to assist with medical expenses.

by Jacquelyn Hoag

Special to the Islands’ Sounder

It is a miracle that Chama is alive considering the enormity of the accident. But there is yet another miracle in her story.

You may know that Chama traveled in a self-renovated van … and she did not travel alone. Her 13-year-old tiger stripe kitty Buddy was with her. As rescue workers at the scene removed Chama from the demolished vehicle, Buddy was seen running up a steep incline.

When the first email arrived calling for prayer the next day, I was heartsick at the thought of this beloved companion alone, abandoned, traumatized in the southern heat of the Siskiyous on a noisy truck strip of I-5.

On Saturday morning, news arrived. Buddy was found. He came down, looking for his van and his person. Five hours passed and a trucker had seen the kitty hunkering under the semi-truck in front of him. He knew it would be leaving soon. So he scooped Buddy up. He read the phone number on the collar and waited. And waited.

He was on his way home in Salem in preparation for his next haul. He outfitted Buddy with all he needed: food, water, dishes, litter box, litter. Since no call had come in claiming Buddy, he thought he might have himself a traveling cat and named him “Summit.”

Anderson’s phone could not receive calls as it was mangled and lost in wreckage. I am not sure how the password was retrieved but just in time the exciting message was heard and contact made with a dear-heart of a trucker man named Dan Greene.

Yesterday a friend drove down to Salem to fetch Buddy and delivered him and all his new gear to me.

Buddy looks tired, maybe depressed, but knows he is safe and loved and he has quiet.

Anderson’s brother will be picking Buddy up soon.