Prayers and good thoughts that Jake is found safe and sound.

Thank you msmarion. Regrettably, Jake's still MIA. His dad is relentlessly skating and searching Orlando.

Oh Mar that is heartwrenching. I am saying my prayers to jake and also asking St Francis to keep his watchful eyes on Jake until he safely returns to his fam
Mary

I may have stepped over the line but I took the liberty of posting this on the Discussions page where more people will see it. I truly hope you don't mind!

I love my dogs and hate to think of them being alone and lost. I'll watch for Jake (I drive home along Conroy some days) and I'll add some prayers to St. Francis too!

Kate

Awww. I lost my 14 year old cat out of a second floor window that was apparently broken by some neighbor kids while I was at work. I never found her. Consequently my stomach is turned into knots whenever I see a "missing" pet message, as I know the pain the owners are feeling. I sure hope they find Jake. Poor Jake.

Heather

I really hope you guys find him. It so hard to lose a pet.

MsO'Malley, Thank you for your prayers and appeal to St. Frances.

Kate, I am so appreciative that you bumped this message up to Discussions. You definitey didn't cross the line. Thank you again, I realy appreciate your help. Jake appreciates it too, he is such a sweet dog.

Heather, I regret the loss of your loved kitty. The real pain is in not knowing what happened.

Trigemini, thank you for the nice sentiments. I remember when you lost your beloved dog in October. Peace to you.

We too have a son who was visiting for the holidays from out of town , brought his cat and she ran away . We have done all the same things to find her that you have done for Jake . My son got a call last night of a sighting and we went to search but after hours could not find her . My son is so sad .
We have a dog who looks almost exactly like Jake ! I sure know how Jake's family feels !
I am heading out today to put up more posters of the missing cat .
I hope Jake is found soon .

Seems like this is a season for alot of lost pets. My neighbors just lost two dachshunds yesterday. Hubby went out to look for them....but no luck.

I remember Candy getting out of my yard in NY once. She managed to unlock the gate. I had horrible thoughts of her getting picked up by some dog fighting thugs or a puppy mill. Luckily we found her a few blocks from the house just walking leisurely as if she was out for a stroll.

I totally understand your pain and your fears. As I'm sure many others on here do as well. And thank you for remembering Candy in your own time of pain.

Sorry to learn about your son's cat, Gatormom. I hope some kind heart finds your son's kitty and there will be a happy reunion.

Trinigemini, thank you for your sensitivity...and I hope your neighbors get their cutie pies back ASAP!

In my heart I know that Jake is trying to make his way home. Maybe a miracle will occur...he's got very nice people rooting for him (thanks again everyone!!!!), and a sweet 10 year old at home in Atlanta waiting for his return.

Jake will always be her first dog, so he'll always be special, whether she remembers the few years or many years of sweet companionship from a very good dog.

So far, no Jake. His dad headed back up to Atlanta today. Everything that could be done has been done.

How sad...
Is Jake microchipped? I hope he is - otherwise, I am worried he might end up at Animal Services in a county you have not contacted...
Maybe it is possible to contact various Animal Services all along an approximate route to Atlanta, in case Jake is not microchipped?

Hi Olyagrove,

Thanks for your sentiments. Jake is indeed microchipped.

No news is good news.

Hope that this is your story too - the cat was found !
A very kind person saw the cat and after several days of seeing and hearing her in his back yard , he lured her onto their porch with cat food .
This family has three cats and two dogs so they are animal lovers .
He heard about the missing cat by word of mouth .
He found our phone number from a flier my son had posted .
The wife said to use findtoto.com and also try petfinders.com
Now I know for next time .
My son is driving down tomorrow to reunite with his pet .
I wish the same for you !

Thanks for sharing your good news about the cat!
There is always hope.

Yay! I'm so glad you found your son's cat. That is wonderful news, thanks for sharing. There's still hope for Jake. Danny say's he's at Tiger Wood's house with sunglasses, telling his Dad to go back to Atlanta. (The weather is much nicer here.)

Good news...

Jake has not been reported dead. He could still show up. He's well bonded with his peeps.

Thank you so much for the help and support.

That is all great news! I hope we keep getting more.
I love my pets and am very attach to them.
Felix

My son's cat was gone for 10 days .
It is a miracle that she was returned .
Thank goodness there are still kind people out there in the world .
Keep asking around and driving around looking for Jake .
Don't give up hope !

Here's a note from Jake's grandmother, posted with permission. (Remember, Jake's earth mom is a wee pre-teen.) Tim is Jake's dad. (If you were the picky type, he's grandad. Tim is grandad lover of Jake... anyway, here is the message.

We have had some very positive news on Jake this week. The week started with calls that Jake had been spotted by dumpsters at McDonald's and Chik-fil-A as well as at at the construction site of a new Harry Pottery ride at Universal. Tim remained in communication with the people who spotted him who continued to search for Jake into the evening. Tim traveled again to Orlando (God bless him),talking with people in the area, at the construction site and continuing to spread the word about our lost pup. After Tim hit the road last night, he received a call from a woman who saw one of our signs and shared that Jake had been playing with the kids in the neighborhood for over an hour yesterday afternoon and that he was happy and healthy. All of these sightings beg the question "why didn't you get a hold of Jake and bring him to your home or a shelter"? Many of the people don't understand the implications of what is taking place but Tim is reinforcing the message that we desperately want our dog back and that he has a home and family in Atlanta. There are a handful of people who are continuing to search in the area that he has repeatedly been seen and our prayer is that we will have Jake home with us this weekend.
Thanks for keeping the faith with us!
Karen

Note from me:
If you see Jake, please catch him. You animal lovers know how to do it, and won't need instructions. Jake isn't the automatically friendly type. You'll have to coax him.

It would be so cool if the Florida Garden Web Pet Detectkve Agency could solve this particular mystery. St.Francis would approve!

Thanks for your help, and peace to all.

I am wishing for Jake's family the same thing that happened for my son's cat - a multiple cat owner coaxed the stray cat onto the porch and kept her locked up there until the human could find our phone number .
The man only knew this was a beloved pet through word of mouth that spread through the neighborhood . The neighbor told the finder where our poster was and where he could find our phone number . It took almost two days , but these kind people kept the cat enclosed , warm , dry and fed . Bless them and all animal lovers and protectors .

Thanks gatormom2! It's 8 days shy of a month since Jake pulled his disappearing act in Orlando. It would be a wonderful surprise, and occasionally wonderful surprises happen.

And again, how marvelous that your son and his cat were happily reunited!

Wonderful pets enrich our lives.

M.

p.s. There's a $500 reward out for Jake. I realized tonight that I'd never mentioned that before.

Have they tried calling the shelters again? It might be a good idea.

Thanks for the advice trinigemini, I really appreciate it, and will pass on to Jake's family.

I've heard horror stories that shelters don't look at the collars or microchips...thanks for the advice.

M

Jake's family rescued another dog this weekend. Her name is Bella.

If you get ahold of Jake, please still call the number on the collar. I told her family that Jake must me like us ... we like the warmth and the lizzards.

Yes, you have to keep on top of the shelters. Go in person if you can. Everyday. They are in business to make money. I have heard too many stories.

Check Craigslist too. People will do anything to make a buck.

Sorry to be so grim.

Tropicalfreak

You speak the truth Tropicalfreak, and sometimes truth is grim. I respect truth, suspect you do to, as does everyone who responded to this post.

Loss is part of life.

I think I may have spotted Jake last night and if it was him he is moving towards Disney on Palm Parkway. By the time I could turn around and go back he has disappeared. O was going to call him by name and of he answered I was going to see if he would get in my truck. I will be looking there again tomorrow. Linda

Oh Linda it would be so great if you found him.

Wow, I've been absent from this post for awhile, and apologize.

Jake was at my home for several hours and wouldn't come to me, even when I called him by name. Linda, have you ever seen him again? If there's a positive siting, Timmy will come back from Atlanta again.

Ooh, I hope Jake can be reunitied with his family who loves him.

Thanks for your help and good wishes.

It appeared to be Jakw as he looked like the picture but I have not seen him since. I am sorry, Linda

Thank you Linda.

There was an article in today's paper about a pet that was lost for six months and finally found his way home. I hope that Jake follows suit.

marilyn

Update:

Jake has been positively identified by Tim, his owner, who got within 20' of him, but Jake RAN AWAY. Tim drove down to Orlando from Atlanta. It's been nearly six weeks now.

Please keep fingers crossed for Jake. Jake's women are headed down from Atlanta. I'm pretty sure Jake will respond to them.

Thanks,
m

Good luck, my finger and toes are crossed :-) Try carrying treats when they go to get him, treats and fresh water, something that smells really good, maybe a hamburger or something really smelly like liver.

This is exciting! I'm checking everyday for updates!

Keeping my fingers crossed that this story has a happy ending.
Marion

Thanks for your very kind wishes and interest, which are greatly appreciated.

Strangely, Jake has apparently disappeared again. Maybe he loves Florida like we all do, despite the flaws, and doesn't WANT to go back to Atlanta??

He's apparently been living in the woods. A kind person has been feeding him but hasn't been able to befriend him. He's been spotted chasing ducks, playing with children, and at various amusement sites.

Apparently Animal Control Officials say he's reverted to a wild dog after all this time ... or something to that effect. He looks good, but a bit unkept. (I believe "a bit mangy" was how his appearance was described.)

A "spotty" report tonight, but that's what I have. Hopefully tomorrow there will be better news!

Thanks again, Linda, Tringemini, Soltice and Marion.

M

Everytime I see a new post on here I think Jake has been found :-( Such a disappointment.

I spotted him once again on Palm Parkway near a hotel. He stopped and looked at me when I called his name and took a few tentative steps towards me as I had a hamburger in my hand for him. He finally got close enough to grab it and then he backed off and inhaled it and dashed into the bushes. I am tying to spot him and hope to gain his trust and maybe get my hands on him. It has been two days since I saw him last. Linda

Wow, Linda! Thank you so much for trying!

The only news tonight is that he's MIA. Heart wrenching news for his family and friends (everyone in this thread included in "friends" category in mho), so thanks once again, Linda and everybody.

m

Sounds like you guys may want to try to lace his food with some fast acting tranquilizer...of course I have no idea how feasible that is or even if it would work as he may have enough time to run away which would not be good.....but how about taking a leash that can be slipped around his neck as he is "inhaling" the food. Linda you are a wonderful person for trying so hard :-)

Jake's family has returned to Atlanta without him.

I'm so sorry. I had hoped for a wonderful reunion.

I'm so sorry ... I thought you guys found him.

Thanks, Marion and Trirnigemini. I guess Jake is a happpy runaway.

If anyone can catch him, the $500 reward is still available, and his loving Atlanta peeps will drive back down to retrieve the recalcitrant run-away muttster.

I saw a great commercial yesterday that made me think of Jake. It's one of those "priceless" commercials. A family goes camping and forgets their dog. The dog has a whole bunch of adventures as he tries to get back to his family. The last line "coming home....priceless" Hope Jake finds his way as well.

Wish I had good news about Jake, but the good news hasn't happened yet.

However, I'd like to share an essay written for Tim, who has been so valient in trying to hook back up with his step-daughter's dog. Here's what his step-daughter wrote about it. It moved me, and I wanted to share with everyone who has helped and commented.

It's funny how you never really see the real heroes in your life. Everyone is so caught up in this stereo-type that the only way to be a hero is to have superpowers. I've recently learned that that's far from the truth. Explain this; maybe Superman can save you from a house fire, but can he really show love and affection towards you? Let me share my story with you to show you who the real heroes in life are.

I had just come home from a ski trip a few days after New Year's. Little did I know what was really going on while I was on my happy little ski trip. My mom and step-dad went to Florida with my two dogs, Jake and Lucy, while I was skiing. One night, my mom let the dogs outside into the fenced-in yard. The problem was, the fence had a hole that Jake escaped through. Everyone was horrified to find this out and searched for days and days. Jake was no where to be found. After four extra days, they had to come home with only Lucy.

Once all of this had happened, only one person changed the way I looked at my loss. That would be my step-dad, Tim, and also my hero. He knew how heartbreaking this was for the whole family. So, a few days later, he skipped his full time job as a tennis coach, and went back to Florida. Tim put up posters, went on the radio, and even got a news station to do an interview on Jake for forty-five minutes. By now, everyone in Florida knew who Jake was. Search parties went everywhere, but still no one could find him. And once again, Tim came home with no Jake.

Recently, Tim has gone again and been able to see him, but he was too far to snatch. We know now where he is staying, but he is too far back in the forest. Right now, Tim is once again in Florida searching for the dog I love so much. Everyday, we get closer and closer to finding him, and soon enough, he'll be rolling around in the grass again. But even if he doesn't get Jake back, I will still love him, because no one has ever done anything as thoughtful for me as that.

So as you can see, here's a real hero, who instead of a cape, has Nike clothes, and traded his cool automobile for a Nissan Maxima. But I bet he could take down Superman in a heartbeat. It's not the flashy gadget and suit that makes a superhero, it's the compassion, courage, and love in that person's heart that make the true hero. And with that, all I ask is next time you're asked who your hero is, just sit down and look around before answering.

Actually made me tear up :-)