Smokey’s safe!

COEUR d’ALENE — When Dennis Carter entered his garage around 6:30 a.m. Friday, he was surprised to find a friendly gray cat perched on his car.

He’d left the garage door slightly open due to the heat, he said, and the cat must’ve slipped inside.

He checked the tag on the cat’s orange collar and resolved to call the owner at a more reasonable hour.

Then he settled in to read the Friday edition of The Coeur d’Alene Press.

“We opened the paper and there he was,” Carter said.

Smokey’s owner, Cristina Salgado, had been searching for Smokey for almost a week.

She’d left her cat in the care of Paws and Claws Resort while she was on vacation.

When she went to collect him last Saturday, he was nowhere to be found.

Precisely when or how Smokey disappeared was difficult to determine, even with the help of security footage. Salgado reported the incident to police as a possible theft.

For days, there was no trace of Smokey.

Then Carter called Salgado with the message she’d been hoping to hear.

She rushed to Carter’s home, which is about 2 miles away from Paws and Claws Resort. In the meantime, Smokey received fresh water and a bit of salmon.

When Salgado arrived, Smokey ran to her.

“I started crying,” she said.

Smokey was in great shape, she said — well-groomed, without any injuries.

The pads of his feet weren’t rough or blistered. He didn’t appear to have lost any weight during his week on the lam. Even the bow on his collar was in pristine condition.

The Carters declined the $500 reward that Salgado offered them for finding her missing pet.

“The cat found us more than we found him,” Carter said.

Having lost a pet himself in the past, he said he understood what Salgado’s family has gone through while searching for Smokey.

“You would do just about anything for your animal,” he said. “I just wanted to help.”

Salgado said she was moved by the gesture.

“I’m so grateful,” she said.

She also offered thanks to the Coeur d’Alene police officers who investigated Smokey’s disappearance.

Salgado said she’s particularly appreciative of the staff at Paws and Claws, who pored over countless hours of security footage in an effort to pinpoint the moment when Smokey disappeared.

“They’ve been amazing,” she said. “I never witnessed anything but love and care from them toward the animals.”

The circumstances of Smokey’s disappearance are still unclear — but Salgado said the details matter less now that he’s home safe.

“I was really worried about him,” she said.

Though the last week has been stressful and upsetting for her family, Salgado said the outpouring of community support she received while searching for Smokey was uplifting.

“I feel so relieved about the state of humanity,” she said.