No child should have to bury their best friend.

I clearly recall the difficulty of having to bury my beloved bunny in my backyard when I was 12 years old. The image of his frozen face and the feeling of his limp body is forever etched into my memory.

I spent months dreaming about him coming back to me, even though I knew that was simply impossible.

It breaks my heart when I see people grieving over their pets, especially if their death happens so suddenly. Even pets that go missing are too unbearable for my fragile heart.

When I heard the story of Jimmy the cat getting lost, and being found at an animal shelter 10 miles away from his owner's home, the story warmed my heart.

Sometimes when we think all hope is lost, it really isn't.

There have been countless heartwarming stories of pets returning home after they've been lost for long periods of time, but none quite like this story below.

The Robinson family thought they'd never see their cat again when she disappeared after spending a night outside in a heavy storm.

Josh, 7, and Buddy, 4, were devastated and worried sick about their best friend.

Their oriental tabby, named Willow, was lost for 10 days. They posted pictures of their beloved family member all over their neighborhood, in the hopes that someone spotted her in the storm and rescued her.

"[My husband] was absolutely distraught when we lost Willow ... I hadn't seen him cry for a long time," Caterina, the boys's mother revealed. "Josh said he was really, really upset "” the kids had to have a day off school."

Unfortunately, all their hopes came crashing down when they found a dead cat on a busy road just outside their home.

"The fact our cat hadn't come home and the body of the cat was outside our house, you put two and two together," Caterina recalled. "[My husband] couldn't sleep that night, he went calling for Willow and then scraped what was off the road."

The 18-month-old cat was given a heartfelt memorial service, and buried in the family's garden.

Only two days later, the unthinkable happened.

An oriental tabby appeared at their home, all thanks to Josh leaving food on their lawn.

It turns out that they buried a cat that may have resembled Willow, but actually wasn't.

"Jonny went outside to the coal shed and came running back inside holding Willow," Caterina said. "It's amazing but we obviously have someone else's cat buried in our garden. We can at least say that they had a nice burial."

While it's super unfortunate what happened to that cat that was found on the side of the road, I'm glad that Willow is safe at home. The Robinson family can finally feel a little more at peace.

Have you ever lost your pet?

[Source: Fox News]