Here's a story of one extraordinary cat that showed its loyalty to its former owner.

Determined cat makes long journey

When Maxine DeSaussure of Pablo died last November at age 76, her daughter Traci took her mother's longtime feline companion, Jimmy, back to Babb to live with her.

But on Nov. 25, Jimmy disappeared. Naturally, Traci and her family feared the worst when he never came back to their barn, week after week this winter.

Among the community of area horsewomen, DeSaussure was well-known for her barrel racing and roping prowess. She had ridden and competed in horse events for many years.

Prior to her death, she sold her ranch to the tribe, according to her good friend and fellow barrel racer Teri Iwerson of Kalispell. Jason, a caretaker who helped DeSaussure now and then, still looks after the place.

On Jan. 10, Jason was out at the ranch when who should coming walking up the lane but Jimmy. It seems the cat had found his way from Babb back to Pablo - a distance of 180 miles - through snow, traffic and predators, to return to his old home.

Jason was surely amazed not only at the determination of the cat but at its uncanny sense of direction. Jimmy will get to stay on at the old ranch, and Jason will see to it that his old place will always be his home.

A river rescue saved the life of a dog in Whitefish last month.

Jim and Debbie Langford of Whitefish have four purebred Samoyeds. The two males, Tolketna and Nakooma (who stay in a kennel on their property), disappeared on Jan 17.

The Langfords put out an alert to everyone they could. Their dogs' groomer Janey Robertson of Tailwaggers in Whitefish distributed fliers around town. But as Debbie put it, "They just fell off the earth."

Apparently the two were able to jump their fence due to the snow that had piled up against it.

One of the Langfords' neighbors, Andrea Dunn, walks her Great Dane every day along the Whitefish River trail. One day, in the early afternoon, Dunn spotted a bald eagle circling over the river. Below it, she saw one of the Samoyeds had fallen through the ice and was struggling in the water while his companion nervously paced along the river's edge. Dunn resisted her instinct to pull the dog out herself.

Meanwhile, as best as the Langfords can piece together the chain of events, another neighbor, Jeannie Black, had apparently seen the emergency and called the police.

Members of the Whitefish Fire Department were there within minutes and able to pull the dog out with a loop device. The dog was then taken to the heated garage of another neighbor, Heather Mulls.

There, Dunn laid her body on top of Tolketna to warm him until veterinarian Joanie Bechtle of Whitefish Animal Hospital and Jim Langford could get there.

Debbie recalls the emotions that flooded her when she got the call that her dogs had been found, alive. As she looks back on what she's sure her dogs think of as "their big adventure" she can only express her deepest gratitude to the many people who were so concerned and help find and save their Samoyeds.