Boy saves kitten from death. Community saves boy from heartbreak.

For the Dayton family (in Moose Jaw - Saskatchewan, Canada), it was devastating when their cat, Dexter, ran away. That's because their teenage son (Logan) had rescued the cat years before, when it was a tiny, injured kitten.  The father, Marc Dayton, says, “He just worked out so good and became such a good member of the family.” Marc said Logan especially developed a bond with the cat, named Dexter. He said his son felt a certain protectoral pride in have rescued the animal from likely frigid winter death. But it was Logan who left him outside one day, only to discover that his beloved pet was lost.

Of course, they plastered the area with posters about Dexter, and that act appears to have brought the entire town together. Even the local paper agreed to run very cheap ads asking for readers to be on the lookout for Dexter. Marc claims that the newspaper ads really got the phone ringing. He said a lot of concerned citizens were expressing sympathy, calling to report sightings of cats matching the description and, in some cases, even offering new kittens if all else failed. But in the end, Dexter turned up when one of the townsfolk found him and called.  According to Marc, Dexter is happily back with the family and will be staying indoors for the foreseeable future. Marc, a father of two teenage boys (Logan and 13-year-old Tyrol) said he feels a great deal of gratitude for the whole community that came together to help reunite his family.

“Thank you all,” he said, adding he went around town replacing the “Missing Cat” posters with ones expressing appreciation to all who cared. Since nobody would accept the $60 reward, Marc donated $60 worth of cat food to Moose Jaw Humane Society.