On June 17, I was on the beautiful Rail Trail in East Andover. I had just peddled under the wooden bridge, when I saw her: a white and grey cat that looked just like my cat Happy that had been missing since right before Christmas! Could it be?

She was just trotting along the bike path, happy as can be (pardon the pun). I was in disbelief.

I always had hoped she was still alive and even told family and friends that because she was such a good-natured cat, maybe someone had her and was keeping her safe. However, the realist in me figured she was more than likely a fox’s supper and long gone.

So imagine my surprise to actually see her. She didn’t come to me immediately; she rolled in the sand, and she spotted a moth flying, so she started to chase it, but then she came up to me, and I picked her up. I wanted to really examine her, because I certainly didn’t want to take someone else’s cat. But she had the grey markings under her chin, and when I looked into her eyes, I knew it was her.

I called my mother to come pick us up, and when I got her home she ran to the door where her food had always been kept. Then she jumped on the counter where she often got scolded for licking the butter dish. Yes, it really was her.

Now the big test: would she and Skeeter, my dog, remember each other? I had gotten them only a few months apart as a puppy and a kitten, and they were more like siblings. Skeeter looked confused at first, but within hours it was as though she had never left. Happy and Skeeter fell fast asleep together, just like old times. Really a miracle.

So now I’m wondering, who has been taking care of Happy? If only my cat could talk….