Lost dog, found cat

My wife and I are grieving. Our little boy (we don't have kids together), our little Llasa/Jack Russell mix has been gone for 2 weeks. Somebody left the gate open (probably me) and he disappeared. No trace. Signs, flyers, etc. have been posted with no luck.

After checking the animal shelter almost dailey, we heard that the nearby larger city animal shelter had a dog that looked like him. This is a city of over 200,000, lots of animals. Went there this morning. Didn't find him, but as we entered the shelter we noticed a room with a viewing window that had been set up for the shelter's resident pet cat. The sign said "Princess Trixie's room" over the window. Complete with 4-poster cat bed, kitty condo play box, cat toys, food, litter box, etc. Quite a nice set up for some fortunate cat. We couldn't help but notice the cat as she left the room and someone let her out the front door. Huge black cat. Looked sorta like our old cat (really our daughter's cat) that she had lost a few years before after she moved out of the house into an apartment.

Guess what.

It was our old cat. They named her "Trixie" because of the unusual trick she did - she would stand on her back legs and beg like a dog. This was one way we knew it was her. Plus, same small white tuft on her huge tummy, same unusual silver eyes. She would roll over on her back but start kicking if you tried to pet her tummy; strange little short meows, etc. And when my wife called her by her old name (Ebony), you should have seen that fat cat run over to her and jump into her lap. Highly unusual according to the women at the shelter.

They have had the cat for over 3 years and were all quite attached to her. She had the run of the place, and obviously a luxurious cat life-style that we could never give her. Best of vet care, loved by all who entered the shelter. Goodbye, Ebony. Now we know what happened to you.

8NTX, my condolences on the lost friend. With the precedent of the lost cat, perhaps he will still show up (sooner than the cat, though, one would hope).

If you read my earlier post, I apologize. It just didn't come out right. It's never easy when these members of the family are gone.

Dear 8NTX,
It is so terrible you lost a much loved member of your family.
Was your dog micro-chipped? Since our 2 dogs are primarily indoor dogs, one is micro-chipped and the small one isn't, he is never going to be outside without us.
Jack Russel's can get into the darnest places too so he could be anywhere, or he could have gone home with someone. That type of breed does not last long at the shelters around here, they are always adopted quickly.
I hope your dog returns to you and your wife, go ahead and grieve, my dogs are my children too and I have human children.
Take care
Laura