- Colorado, USA -
The power of a close community, persistence, goodwill, and unselfishness led to a happy-ending story for a 6-year-old dog named Pepper and her family!
Pepper, a Bernese/black Labrador mix, disappeared from her home in Blue River on the morning of February 22, 2024.
Pepper’s family then called Summit Lost Pet Rescue, Inc. and its volunteers immediately sprang into action to help them find their furbaby.
Summit Lost Pet Rescue said in Facebook post: “We sent them our standard search protocols- put out a scent station on their front porch (owner's dirty clothes and dog bed), set up cameras, made social media posts to spread awareness, hung neon signs in the neighborhood, and boots on the ground search.”
Additionally, to facilitate and speed up the search, flyers were handed out to neighbors asking them to check their garages, decks, tree wells and any other places where Pepper might be stuck.
The snow was very deep in the Blue River area and had very high snowbanks.
Despite the tireless attempts, Pepper was nowhere to be found leading the search team to assume that either Pepper was stuck someplace nearby or got picked up and left Blue River.
At that point, the search area was expanded to nearby trails. The team felt it was more likely that Pepper was stuck in the snow, so her family and the volunteers of Summit Lost Pet Rescue spent a lot of time snowshoeing and searching in areas where Pepper could be stuck.
The search team had a glimmer of hope when they noticed dog tracks that were circling the neighborhood near Pepper’s home with no human prints nearby so it could've been her. Volunteers kept track of those prints as clues. However, they couldn’t be sure as Pepper never showed up on their cameras.
It’s now ten days later and Pepper does not know that her ordeal is about to come to an end and that she is about to finally be reunited with her family!
Kevin, a volunteer with Summit Lost Pet Rescue, had spent many hours looking for Pepper. Giving up was not an option for him, so along with his dog named Finn, they went down by the creek once again. “Finn was very interested in this location”, said Summit Lost Pet Rescue. It was not easy to get to the area due to the depth of the snow and fallen trees.
After further exploration, there she was! Pepper was stuck “in a small area of the creek surrounded by steep snowbanks and taking shelter under a fallen tree.”
As Summit Lost Pet Rescue noted, “A black dog under muddy black tree roots made it very hard for Kevin to see her, but his dog Finn did.”
Kevin saw Pepper’s tag shining on her collar and immediately contacted her family.
The family arrived at the scene, performed “calming techniques” and snowshoed/post-holed in the deep creek. It took three people to finally free Pepper. For ten long days Pepper had been stuck 714 feet from her house.
The good news is that a veterinarian examination revealed that she was well!
Melissa Davis, executive director of Summit Lost Pet Rescue, explained: “We often take our dogs on searches with us and use them as ‘magnet dogs’. When pets go missing, they often are afraid of humans, but have a better trust with other dogs.”
Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from the Facebook post published by Summit Lost Pet Rescue.
