Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/missing-deaf-senior-dog-found-in-water/

Sage is a 14-year-old golden retriever who is beloved by all. When he went missing from his home in Lopez Island, Washington back in January, his owner was distraught.

Jane Albrecht, Sage’s owner, took to Facebook to share the news. Time was of the essence to find him as Sage has special needs.

In her post, she wrote, “LOST DOG!! My Golden Retriever Sage is missing! He became disoriented after a seizure Friday night and disappeared from our home near Richardson on the south end of Lopez. He is a friendly 14-year-old Golden in good physical condition but deaf.”

After her post, it didn’t take long for the community to share the post, and soon, people from their neighborhood came out in droves to help search for the missing pooch. Sadly, the search of the immediate surrounding area turning up nothing. And that is when the search ramped up their efforts.

Everyone fanned out, and while some continued on foot, others took to their cars to drive further away in search of Sage. Someone even brought out a drone to help search for the lost senior pooch.

One 6-year-old boy even willingly volunteered himself to go on an exploration of a nearby tunnel in hopes that they’d locate the dog. Jane’s friend, Stephanie Vallejo, shared the story of how the young child bravely went in, telling his mother that he wanted to go as he could “fit” inside. However, Sage was nowhere to be found.

Jane became more and more worried about the lost dog as Sage suffers from an enlarged heart and arthritis, as well as a condition that causes seizures. As the days crawled by, Jane became more worried that her special needs dog wasn’t going to be found alive. But then, hope was restored on the fifth day of the search.

While searching an area along the waterfront, a volunteer found Sage alive, trapped inside a cove with rising tides reaching up to his chin. The rescue had to be quick since there the rising tides were threatening Sage’s safety.

It seems he’d fallen down a steep path into the water and couldn’t climb out.

This steep incline also prevented rescuers from getting down to him, so they had to come up with a secondary plan and use a canoe to rescue the stranded pooch.

Once he was brought back to safety, Sage received immediate medical care. Eventually, he was able to go home and continue his recovery from the comfort of his home.

Jane is beyond happy to have her best friend back home, and we’re so glad that this story had a happy ending. Feel better, Sage!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog