Missing cat reunited with owners in Thousand Palms – NBC Los Angeles

A cat and its owners were reunited Saturday at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus after the animal had been missing since April.

Kim Salls and his wife Jill MacDonald, who live in St. Louis, Missouri, were visiting a home they own in Rancho Mirage with their two cats, two English bulldogs and a Brussels Griffon, when one of their cats, Dale, 3 years. Dragon went missing April 10, according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

The Rancho Mirage home has a backyard with 6-foot walls, so the couple believed their pets were safe. However, Salls said she thought the irrigation system had gone off and scared Dale so much that he jumped over the wall.

“We went everywhere looking for him,” Salls said. “We posted signs on our street. We have placed signs in other streets,” she added.

Salls and MacDonald wanted to continue their search for Dale, but MacDonald needed to return to Missouri for another round of chemotherapy for his stage 4 cancer.

On May 11, Dale showed up at Rancho Mirage, at the home of Max Zien and Jilli Joffee, who offered him water after running and climbing on Joffee's leg.

“He was so nice and kind and friendly,” Joffee said.

The couple thought the cat belonged to someone nearby, so Joffee let it go home, but it reappeared a week later and began camping in their backyard, shelter officials said.

On June 4, the couple decided to take Dale to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms where they discovered his microchip information and contacted the microchip company.

An HVAC employee asked Zien and Joffee if the cat could remain in their care until the owner could be contacted and a meeting could take place, to which the couple agreed.

“Even our three dogs loved it. I am so happy to hear that he is reunited with his family,” Joffee added.

Riverside County animal services officials say the couple's willingness to help highlights the importance of the pet support program, which began in June 2023 and involves the county providing resources to those in need help to prevent pet abandonment, and to community members helping the county, such as Zien and Joffee.

About 6,000 pets were diverted from county shelters thanks to the help of community members and county staff who provided resources to pet owners, officials said.

Salls and MacDonald said they were eager to make Dale Dragon bigger after seeing photos of him looking slimmer.

“He weighed about 14 pounds – he looked like a big, fat raccoon. It seems like he was left alone, fending for himself,” Salls added.

Dale Dragon was nicknamed for John C. Reilly's character in the 2008 comedy “Stepbrothers.”