After 40 frightening hours, a missing dog named Puppy was finally found alive—and the hero who located him was another dog completing his very first rescue mission.
Puppy, a 150-pound Great Pyrenees, disappeared while out horseback riding with his owner, Karen James, near McCleary, Washington. His family searched desperately for two days before turning to Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue for help.
That’s when Tino, a trained Search and Rescue dog, was brought in.
Following Puppy’s trail, Tino led rescuers to a muddy gully less than a mile from Puppy’s home. There, they discovered the exhausted dog almost completely submerged in thick mud, with only his head visible above the surface.
Three rescuers worked together to carefully pull the large dog free. Puppy was then placed in a wagon and brought home, where an emotional reunion with his relieved family awaited him.
Tino had spent 16 months training for moments like this, and remarkably, finding Puppy became the first successful “walk-up find” of his career.
For Puppy, it meant finally going home. For Tino, it was an unforgettable first mission—and the beginning of life as a true rescue hero.
