It’s always heartbreaking when a pet goes missing, especially around this time of year. Not only can the worries ruin the festive month, but it’s also difficult for a pet to be outside alone in the cold.
So, having your friends and neighbors by your side to help you safely reunite with your pet is invaluable. That was the case recently when the community came together to reunite a family with their dog who had been missing for weeks. Just in time for Thanksgiving.
Amy and Craig Tucker from Muskegon, Michigan (USA), are the owners of a two-year-old Boxer Catahoula mix named Harley. The family was devastated in October when Harley escaped from a daycare, according to WTOL.
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Weeks passed with no sign of the dog, but luckily, the couple received help from the community. Harley’s story was shared on social media, and neighbors began assisting in the search.
“The community really came together, we could feel the distress and heartache the family was going through,” wrote Cindy Witham on Facebook. “Everyone wanted Harley home!”
“From neighbors leaving garage doors open to people calling about sightings on their video doorbells, it’s been a community effort,” she told WTOL.
Carl Johnson, the owner of Great Lakes Nuisance Animal Control, was one of the concerned neighbors. He was particularly worried about how Harley would fare as the temperatures dropped: “Winter is coming,” said Carl. “Time is running out.”
Using his experience as an animal tracker, he set a trap for the dog in the woods, hoping Harley would come to him.
And indeed, the next morning he found a hungry dog in his trap: it was Harley, finally found after being missing for over seven weeks.
“Harley spent almost 8 weeks in the wilderness of the forest. Over 56 harrowing nights, 10 miles on the road, and 150 through the woods,” wrote Cindy on Facebook. “She’s resilient, and her will to live was unmatched.”
Harley was soon reunited with her family. According to WTOL, Carl refused an offer of payment and simply said he was glad to be able to bring the dog home, calling it a ‘beautiful outcome’.
Harley was finally back home, just in time for Thanksgiving, and the owners were incredibly grateful, both to Carl and to all the neighbors who had worked tirelessly to help them find their dog.
“Everyone really stepped up. It’s been a big emotional rollercoaster to go through all this,” Amy Tucker told WTOL.
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It’s a story that reminds us of the power of people coming together to help one another.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the community’s help,” Amy said. “It’s been an overwhelming experience. It just shows there are so many good people out there who want to help you. I can never thank everyone enough for what they did.”
“It takes a village, our village is why the Tuckers have this girl back home,” Cindy wrote.
We are so happy that Harley is safe and sound at home after so many weeks in the bitter cold! Many thanks to everyone who helped in the search!
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