"Samuel/Sammie", DSH, Grey/White Tabby, Mill Valley - Found!

(Letter from Sammie's person)
I called Jackie out of desperation and didn't know who I was calling. I was just desperate and at my most vulnerable. It had been about a week that my cat was gone when Jackie came. We trekked all up and down the creek in Mill Valley in places I kept thinking my cat would never ever go. He was a house cat! We went farther than I thought he would go but "Dino" Jackie's trained dog kept saying that Sam had indeed been where we were going. I knew from the moment I met Jackie that she was authentic. Sam did indeed show up the next day at a house on the creek right where we had been. A lady called and said that my shy cat was at her door. Something I never thought he would do. He was very skinny, mangy and looked like he had seen things that he never wanted to see again! Sam was a rescue that I had for only a year and a half. He was very insecure and not at all street wise or outside savvy. I never thought he could have survived out in the world. I give Jackie all the credit for luring him out of wherever he had been hiding out. He obviously had not eaten!!! I am happy to say that he is even nicer to me now that he is back and very grateful. Not a common cat trait. Frankie In Mill Valley


(Search details)
Frankie is a three year old DSH grey tabby with white. He is totally indoors, and neutered. He is wearing a collar with a bell, but no tags. He is microchipped. He took off one night, but the exact reason is still unclear: if the kids let him out, or if he got chased from the yard or scared by fireworks in the area. Due to a backlog in calls on my part, I was unable to do the search for a couple of days. I went out on a Tuesday morning.
We did a thorough check of the yards, both front and back, which had heavy vegetation. We started the search by checking the back yard, which has a small, narrow walkway outside. We checked one side but did not find any scent. We checked the other direction and found a path leading away from the house. The track led up to a small neighborhood park and then down to the creek. The track led up and down the creek and then left the creek and went into the local park and up a street that borders the creek. Sammie's scent was on the creek as various spots where we checked.
Sammie's person did not believe that Sammie would go this far from the house, and she also wanted to check some other spots. So we decided to remember this spot to come back to check it later on if we did not find another track. We did find another track that led on a loop around the house and then to a street just above them.
While on this track, Sammie's person received a call that Sammie had been spotted by her the day before in her yard. The sighting was back over the area where we had been along the creek earlier in the search.
We walked backed over there and spoke to the woman who made the call. She said the cat she saw the day before was definitely the cat in the photo. I did a search with Dino in the area to see if Sammie's scent was there and it was. The scent went from her house, down the street and then made a right down a street which leads to a nine hole golf course.
My recommendation was to find a place to put out flyers and food and a trap to try to catch Sammie in this location. I got a call from Sammie's person the next day that Sammie had been spotted in the same area. I suggested putting out food in bowls in the area since she wasn't able to get a spot for a trap. I got a call the following day that Sammie had been picked up by a person in the area of the food!

(entered into lost pet questionnaire 1/26/11)