St Louis Cat Owner to Reunite with Dale Dragon in Coachella Valley

FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2024 — A St. Louis woman is flying into Palm Springs International Airport tonight to reunite with her wayward cat, Dale Dragon.

The reunion will take place Saturday morning (June 15) at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms.

If not for a kind couple from Rancho Mirage who found Dale Dragon, the reunion may not have happened. The couple – and their three dogs – have been caring for the stray feline since late May. Also, Dale Dragon is embedded with a microchip, a valuable tool to assist with reunions. 

Dale Dragon – a 3-year-old tabby nicknamed for the John C. Reilly character in the 2008 comedy film “Stepbrothers,” went missing on April 10.

Kim Salls and her wife, Jill MacDonald, own a home in Rancho Mirage and often make the long, 24-hour journey from St. Louis, spreading the trek into two days. They prefer driving because it’s easier with their crew of four-legged friends, which includes a second cat, Steve Nighthawk (another reference to “Stepbrothers”), two English bulldogs (Lucy and Walter) and a Brussels griffon named Frank.

The “Stepbrothers” connection is Steve’s lukewarm behavior toward Dale Dragon. Steve was a long-time family member when the couple adopted Dale Dragon. Steve got along fine with the dogs, but was less than thrilled when Dale Dragon became his new housemate, much like John C. Reilly’s relationship initially with Will Ferrell’s character. 

The couple’s Rancho Mirage home has a backyard with 6-foot walls, so their pets are always safe and secure. Dale Dragon is known for his bug-catching abilities, but he’s not a wanderer. On a mid-April day, Salls said she believes the irrigation system came on and it spooked Dale Dragon so much that he leaped over the wall. 

“We went everywhere looking for him,” Salls said by telephone in her St. Louis-area home. “We posted signs on our street. We posted signs on other streets.”

Dale Dragon is declawed, a fact that frightened the couple, considering the desert area is known for roaming coyotes. Salls and MacDonald would have stayed in the Coachella Valley and continued their search for him, but MacDonald needed to return to Missouri for another round of chemotherapy. MacDonald has stage-4 cancer.

Dale Dragon is microchipped, but he must have been wandering for a long while alone, Salls said after she saw recent photos of him.

“He was a big, fat cat,” Salls said. “He was about 14 pounds – he looked like a big, fat raccoon. It looks like he’s been out on his own, fending for himself.”

Perhaps. But on May 11, almost a month after Dale Dragon went missing, he showed up at the Rancho Mirage home of Max Zien and Jilli Joffee.

“He was outside, crying like a baby, so very loud,” Joffe said. “When I opened the door, he ran up to me and climbed on my leg. He was sooooo sweet and nice and friendly.”

She gave the cat some water but, thinking that the cat belonged to someone nearby, she left him to roam back to his home. Then he showed up a week later and started making camp in her backyard. Dale Dragon, used to being around other dogs, loved the couple’s pooches: 12-year-old Sonny, a beagle mix; Stevie, 10, a Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix; and Frankie, 4, a Rottweiler mix.

Joffe captured video of the cat being chased by the dogs and Stevie trying to make friends with Dale Dragon.

On June 4 the couple took him to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms. It was there that staffers discovered his microchip information and contacted the chip company, Home Again. An employee educated the couple about the county’s Pet Support program and asked if the cat could remain in their care until the owner could be contacted and a reunion could take place. The family agreed. 

“He’s such a sweet cat,” Joffee said. “Even our three dogs loved him. So happy to hear he’s being reunited with his family.”

Riverside County Animal Services officials say the couple’s willingness to help highlights the importance of the Pet Support program. Pet Support started in June 2023 and involves real conversations with those coming to the shelter — and the county providing resources for those in need. It also involves community members helping the county, such as the Rancho Mirage couple’s example.

Approximately 6,000 pets have been diverted from the county’s shelters, thanks to community members helping and the county staff providing pet owners with resources.

Now Salls and MacDonald look forward to fattening up Dale Dragon.

“Dale is so bossy,” Salls said. “When I am in the kitchen getting coffee, he’ll start crying. He’s a little bossy cat.” 

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