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On July 23, David Sowers, his girlfriend Laura Gillice, and their dog were visiting Yellowstone National Park when a 22-year old driver in the opposite lane fell asleep at the wheel and drifted into their lane, hitting them head on. Sowers was airlifted to a hospital following the serious accident. Jade, a 14-month old Australian Shepherd, was inside her crate in back of the couple’s SUV at the time of the accident. The crate was completely destroyed, but Jade appeared to be ok.
When rangers opened the car to get her, the terrified dog bolted into the woods where she would remain, alone, for the next 42 days.
The family, desperate to find their beloved dog, put up posters, created a Facebook page, and visited the park frequently, leaving behind food, dirty clothes that they hoped would lure her into traps, and calling out to her repeatedly, in hopes of bringing her home.
Finally, on Friday, 42 days after the accident, their prayers were answered. Gillice had gotten up early in the morning and headed to the park with her dog, Leila. She urged Leila to bark, hoping Jade would hear it and come to them. It worked!
“It was a beautiful morning with the fog in the meadow and another couple had stopped to take pictures and out of the corner of my eye I saw this black and white movement,” Gillice explained to The Missoulian. “I asked the couple, because they had binoculars, ‘Is that a deer or a dog?’ and she said ‘It’s a dog.’ I just called to her in puppy voices. She just came running to me, like ‘Where’ve you been mom?’ “
Despite being a lot skinnier than the day she was lost, Jade appears to be in good health and VERY happy to be reunited with her family.
