When a lost puppy named "Puppy" was found 40 hours later, it was a touching moment for the rescuers and the family. A Search and Rescue dog named Tino, who was making his first journey, was also responsible.
While horseback riding in McCleary, Washington, Puppy, a 150-pound Great Pyrenees, vanished. His owner Karen James was beside him. His owners turned to Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue for help following two days of anxious searching.
To find Puppy, the nonprofit rescue was given Tino, a Search and Rescue dog.
Puppy was drowned in a muddy ravine less than a mile from Tino's house after he had hurriedly followed Puppy down. Through the mud, only his head was visible.
Puppy had to be safely removed by three rescuers. "Tino did a terrific job today, finding this old dog stranded in the muck," Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue wrote on Facebook.
He may have been immobilized in the frigid muck for hours if his back feet initially failed to function. Puppy's family might not have found him if a search dog hadn't helped because the forests go on for miles.
When Puppy arrived at his family's house, they were happy to see him. He was then put in a wagon.
To Fox 13, James claimed, "He couldn't get out of the muck." Since he was sufficiently off the path, we would have missed him.
And you know there's acres and acres of wilderness out there to search," she added. Otherwise, we would have never found him.
The first "Walk up find" of Tino's career came after 16 months of training, according to Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue. It definitely met with great success!