Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/lost-dog-reunited-woods/

There was one time that our family dog ran out of the garage when we opened the automatic door as we drove home. Our dog’s attention had been drawn by something in the alleyway, and off she went.

Eventually, we were able to find her a half-hour later. But I remember that half-hour of terror I felt as a seven-year-old, worried that my dog was gone forever.

Looking back on that scare, I can only speculate on how pet owners must feel when their beloved pets go missing for longer periods of time. And last year, one dog owner, Kate Olson, had gone for a Thanksgiving visit to family living in the St. Louis suburb of Arnold. While they were there, the two had gone for a walk and that is when tragedy struck. Walter had managed to get himself out of his collar and then bolted.

Kate wasn’t able to catch him. She stayed behind for a few weeks to try and find him and did everything in her power to locate missing Walter.

She posted flyers in the area. She retraced the route they walked on the day he disappeared. But nothing was working. She was unable to find him. Unfortunately, that meant that the New Hampshire resident had to return home empty-handed, without her dog.

Even though she had to leave Arnold, she took her search efforts online with the creation of the “Where’s Walter” Facebook group that reached out to various rescue groups and animal charities for help spreading awareness.

Luckily for Kate, her efforts eventually paid off.

Just shy of the one year mark, Kate and Walter were finally reunited after Walter was found surviving out in the woods. The Lost Paws Trapping from Belleville, Illinois explained in a Facebook post that the pooch had been living on his own in the woods and that he had been avoiding human contact the entire time that he was out there.

The rescue further explained that they had been called out by a local man who’d seen Walter appear on his property’s surveillance cameras a few times. He’d tried luring the dog a few times with no luck and eventually got the organization involved. After successfully trapping Walter inside a cage with food, the rescue was able to give this lost dog story a very satisfying ending.

As it turned out, Lost Paws Trapping had managed to get Walter into safety on Friday the 13th! While it might be unlucky to some, it proved to be a very lucky day for Kate, who hopped on a plane as soon as she received the call about Walter’s rescue. And the reunion came just shy of the one year mark – 13 days to be exact.

The reunion of Kate and Walter was a very sweet and emotional one. The pup was ecstatic to see Kate and was furiously wagging his tail when he spotted her and wouldn’t stop excitedly jumping on her.

As the local KDSK shared through Fox News, Kate stated that the time spent alone in the woods didn’t seem to have changed Walter one bit. He was still the “sweet dog” he’d always been. We can only imagine that both Kate and Walter are feeling extra thankful this year – and we couldn’t be happier for them!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog