Heartbroken Dad Gets The Sweetest Surprise To Help Him Heal

Three years ago, retired father Javier Silvas experienced what must have felt like an unmendable kind of heartbreak.

After 19 long and happy years together, his beloved cat, Juancho, had passed away of old age.

Javier was inconsolable.

“When Juancho died, my dad called me crying to give me the news,” Francisco Rojas, Javier’s son, told The Dodo. “He couldn’t stop his voice from quivering.”

When Juancho was laid to rest, Javier planted a tree to mark the spot — and to honor the friend he’d lost.

“He has a big heart,” Francisco said.

Life carried on for Javier over the years that followed, but time did little to ease the ache that came from Juancho’s passing. Javier’s loved ones could sense that a quiet sadness still was lingering within him.

So, when his family got word that an orange kitten had been born nearby and needed a home, they decided to arrange a surprise.

And introducing the kitten to Javier came as the sweetest surprise, indeed:

The kitten bore such a uncanny likeness to the late Juancho that the pair’s introduction felt more like a reunion of two long-acquainted souls.

“It was as if they had been apart for a while but now were back together,” Francisco said. “It was a moment of happiness. Seeing my dad smile again was all we wanted. To see him smile.”

Weeks have passed since that day, and the smiling has yet to stop.

Juancho II, as the kitten is known, has found a cozy place in Javier’s heart.

“He’s my dad’s baby,” Francisco said. “He spends all his time taking pictures of him. They love each other.”

A cherished pet who’s been lost can never be replaced, sadly — but the empty space they leave behind can often be filled anew.