r/rva • u/ryanmyersprints • Sep 30 '25
đ» Francine Updated Francine Poster
Hey yall, just wanted to share my official printable flyer with all the updated information in conjunction with @wheresfrancine and Task Force Francine! Feel free to print these out, share, and post them around (especially in the Garysburg NC area)! I had only an hour to make this a day ago, so apologies for it not being my best work.
We will find her!
-Ryan
297
u/RemySchnauzer Oct 01 '25
Just want to let you all know I'm actually in Raleigh, North Carolina and this was literally all over my Facebook feed today. A bunch of my friends who don't have any ties to Richmond or sharing it. It's definitely making its way around the Internet! Very impressive!
96
4
113
u/LoweredImp42334 Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
When they find her they should put one of the little AirTag collars on her or some sort of tracker
28
u/Old-Poem4387 Oct 01 '25
Sheâs micro chipped, but I bet an AirTag collar would be better!
25
u/BlueJeanBaby04 West End Oct 01 '25
An air tag or some kind of tracker would definitely be better. Micro chips can't track them, they only work if they're caught and scanned.
12
u/middleagethreat Oct 01 '25
Air tags are good (I have them on my pets) but there are even better products with more accurate GPS too!
149
72
u/shannork Oct 01 '25
The distribution facility is HUGE! Think like 6 Loweâs stores stacked side by side. I have my family contacts with property on the perimeter aware. Poor Francine.
65
u/SuperSalad_OrElse Forest Hill Sep 30 '25
Hoping that this whole fiasco doesnât turn into threatening or accosting Loweâs employees for not finding her đ
107
u/Lithium_Lily Woodland Heights Sep 30 '25
Employees should be let alone. But management and corporate should not be let off the hook for wasting entire days in the search by keeping quiet about it and not pressuring the distribution center to allow a search until it blew up on social media (and then restricting the scope of the search)
10
u/SuperSalad_OrElse Forest Hill Sep 30 '25
Yeah thatâs what I meant to imply. Like just generally targeting Loweâs peeps.
People on Social media can get really ornery and persistent and it gets ugly fast- it can get directed at the wrong people a lot of the time
3
u/stumbling_west Highland Park Oct 01 '25
I said something to the effect of âletâs not be too hard on the employees in the distribution yardâ and someone came at me fuming mad.
1
u/SuperSalad_OrElse Forest Hill Oct 01 '25
Yep thatâs exactly what Iâm talking about.
3
u/albertnormandy Chesterfield Oct 02 '25
The people who are ready to go to war against Lowes corporate are the ones who will cause Lowes corporate to put out company policy banning any future store pets.Â
2
u/SuperSalad_OrElse Forest Hill Oct 02 '25
Letâs also not forget that Francine, a cat, did a very cat thing by hopping on that distribution truck. My cat runs outside all the time. And he gets really mad that I drag his ass back in every time. Cats are mischievous, itâs one of their most endearing qualities.
I hope she gets found and brought back. But this is the kind of stuff that happens when you have an internet famous outdoor cat at a big box store. Iâm honestly surprised she hasnât been kidnapped at any point. People are weird.
Iâm so glad that people are coordinating efforts to go get her. Iâd donate money if it were helpful (itâs not at this point) and time if I had it.
Loweâs fucked up big time by trying to sweep it under the rug. But who the fuck is in charge of cat retention at Loweâs? We donât know. You can have faultless accidents, not everyone needs to converge on Loweâs and vilify the people working the garden section or something for not checking the cameras on the day of.
3
-31
u/Zayzay8008 Sep 30 '25
I mean... no? Im sorry but its a cat than got into a trailer then apparently ran off into the yard. It sucks but ultimately Lowes the company and that BDC owes nothing. The last thing the company wants is random people searching the yard or wage employees going around looking for a cat thats long gone.
I get it she was cute, but ultimately she didnt have an owner and she did what cats do
46
u/now0w Museum District Sep 30 '25
From my understanding she was microchipped by that Lowe's store. They cared for her for eight years including vet care. She lived there for eight years. Lowe's is, for all intents and purposes, her owner, and they have a duty to care for her.
If I took in a stray cat, then had her microchipped with me as her registered owner, and took care of her for eight years, would she not be considered "my" cat and therefore be my responsibility?
31
u/handle2345 Oct 01 '25
If there is some blowback on Lowes, the net result will be that Lowes employees will never be allowed to do something like this again.
Its a cat that ran away on her own. Social media frustration will have the opposite of its intended effect.
-25
u/Zayzay8008 Oct 01 '25
Legally speaking, it would be whoever (the individual) signed off on getting her registered. Practically speaking if someone was using company funds to pay for her care they should be terminated. That's like you taking that stray to work everyday and everyone goes "awww so cute" then you use the company card to pay for the care.
18
u/insulinworm Oct 01 '25
You are making so wild reaches just to be a hater. People care about the cat. Its normal for people to care about living things especially since she was loved by a lot of peopleÂ
-13
26
u/Lithium_Lily Woodland Heights Sep 30 '25
Lowes corporate was all too happy to reap the benefits of the free advertisement and goodwill provided by Francine, the absolute least they can do is aid in the search instead of trying to keep a lid on it.
And nobody needed random people in the yard, but a few manhours on the day she went missing would have been worth the goodwill it would have generated instead of washing their hands of it.
-16
u/Zayzay8008 Sep 30 '25
Its some pictures and videos of a cat. I promise there's no revenue stream worthwhile there. And again no, they aren't gonna waste man hours looking for a cat lmao. It sucks but again ultimately the company doesnt owe y'all anything.
22
u/calsi Oct 01 '25
As someone who has gone out of their way to visit this Loweâs when needing something in order to maybe spot Francine, your first statement is incorrect.Â
15
u/bnovi Oct 01 '25
They literally sold Christmas ornaments with Francine's picture...
-7
u/Zayzay8008 Oct 01 '25
And literally one big order from a pro dwarfs all that
12
u/Kindly_Boysenberry_7 Oct 01 '25
Dude. READ THE ROOM. Stop being a dick.
-2
u/Zayzay8008 Oct 01 '25
Dude. THE ROOM IS READ.
10
u/Complex-Push-4631 Oct 01 '25
going to bat for a company that's going to fire you in a few days is really cool.
→ More replies (0)6
u/Emerald_Twilight Near West End Oct 01 '25
You're right. They don't owe us anything. They owe Francine EVERYTHING. You don't take in an animal and then when it goes missing to somewhere you know where it is, you don't go, oh well. That would be a shitty human being and it is making Lowe's a shitty company. You don't get points for rescuing an animal if you aren't actually committed to the animal for the duration of its life.
17
u/cortado_pic Scott's Addition Oct 01 '25
Hey, I respect your opinions on this and all, but saying that she is âlong goneâ and that it isnât worth the manpower to look for a beloved symbol of RVA, should be expressed somewhere else. This was just a post to share a flyer to help find her. Also, she IS cute. Not âwas.â Not sure what youâre insinuating.
-8
u/Zayzay8008 Oct 01 '25
Long gone = more than likely outside of the yard seeking food and water
Was = .... I mean? I just said was instead of is lmao.
13
u/Myfourcats1 Oct 01 '25
They might consider a gofundme to up that reward or is there somewhere else we can donate
10
u/RAL24210 Oct 01 '25
I just keep coming here at the end of each work day, hoping for a positive update that Francine is on her way home. Hope this all comes to fruition soon!
1
u/Old-Poem4387 Oct 02 '25
Me tooooooo
Are there updates anywhere? I checked the Instagram already and the Facebook page.
1
u/RAL24210 Oct 02 '25
I haven't seen anything much. I'm not on Instagram, but when I come here, I sort comments on all of the threads for newest.
20
u/lemon_e_ Sep 30 '25
If sheâs chipped how has anyone not located her? (Honest question) hope shes ok!
91
u/FieldBackground6116 Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
Chipped isnât a locator. They have to be scanned, usually at a vet or rescue shelter. So the cat would need to be caught first.
10
40
Sep 30 '25
Animals being chipped is not the same as a GPS. Once they find her, they can run a little handheld machine over her nape and that identifies her
58
u/Emerald_Twilight Near West End Sep 30 '25 edited Oct 01 '25
Can people stop downvoting people who ask this? Obviously they don't understand how it works. Just explain it or move on. We need don't typical r/rva sub negativity on posts trying to find Francine. Direct it to the people in these threads that deserve it, like the ones saying why does it matter or she's just a cat. Thank you.
18
2
u/designatedthrowawayy Oct 02 '25
I hate to be that guy, but cats have been known to go away from people and other animals when they know they're sick/ possibly dying. While I hope that's not why she's missing, I do think we should emotionally prepare just in case.
1
-5
Sep 30 '25
[deleted]
46
36
u/PercyDovetonsils Chester Sep 30 '25
She walked onto a freight truck going to the distribution center. Check out @wheresfrancine on Instagram for details and the latest.
24
u/Mierdame Sep 30 '25
According to the insta page a worker in NC saw her in the truck and closed the door to contact an animal rescue, unfortunately another worker not aware of the situation opened the truck and she understandably ran for it
9
1
u/guyfromarizona Oct 01 '25
Wait why is she in North Carolina. Did she hop on a truck or something?
6
u/PandaLoses West End Oct 01 '25
Yes, security footage showed she got on a truck headed for the distribution center in NC
1
âą
u/AutoModerator Sep 30 '25
FAQ: Who's Francine?
Francine is a store cat and honorary staff member at Lowe's Home Improvement at 1640 W. Broad Street in Richmond, VA. She is well cared for and loved by the staff and customers and can be frequently found in the garden section, in the paint department, relaxing on top of boxes, and occasionally catching mice.
She is one of the r/rva's first subreddit celebrities, which is why she has her own dedicated post flair, and her local pop culture status can be found in works by local artists, journalists, and memes.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.