After days of searching and worrying, a 58-year-old Stevenson Ranch woman's fears came true - her missing dog was found dead by train tracks in Canyon Country.

The dog had gone missing the day before Thanksgiving after a local grooming shop accidentally switched the pet with someone else's dog, said owner Jo Joshua.

A veterinarian told the family the dog appeared to have been hit by a car or a train, and that he had probably been dead for a couple of days, Joshua said.

She got the news from a Metrolink train engineer who called her Sunday morning. He told Joshua he had found the bloodied body of her missing bichon frise, Teddy Bear, next to the tracks near the Via Princessa station, Joshua said.

"I'm still in shock," Joshua said, her voice shaking as she sat at her dining room table with a photo of her dog.

"I want to remember him like this. I don't want to remember him in his pain."

She said she's not sure whether she's going to take any action against the groomer.

As the family prepares to bury Teddy Bear this week, signs of the pet's existence linger.

His gray food bowl sits empty on the kitchen floor, and stuffed animals that served as his chew toys lie face down on the back patio.

Joshua still keeps a pillow between her and her husband on her bed where Teddy Bear slept every night, snuggling against her back.

"It's just so quiet," she said. "It's like a deathly silence in this house without him here."

But while the loss is painful, Joshua said finally knowing her dog's fate gives her some comfort.

"I could have been living in hell forever," she said. "There's just a certain peace knowing where he is."