After quitting her job to search for her dog, a woman is reunited with her lost border collie.
Carole and Verne King from Washington went on a trip to Kalispell, Montana in July, and brought their beloved dog, Katie.
After returning to their hotel room from dinner, they realized their dog had somehow escaped.
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“It was devastating. I got sick to my stomach,” Carole told Daily Inner Lake.
The Kings, along with hotel staff, searched the grounds, but to no avail. They hung up 500 flyers, alerted the local community, reached out on social media and even set up video cameras to see if they could spot their 7-year-old dog. News traveled fast, but there still was no Katie.
And while the community rallied around the Kings for weeks, sending encouraging messages from all over, Katie remained missing.
“I never gave up. I never lost hope,” said King. She even decided to quit her job as a postal worker to spend more time searching for her dog.
It paid off.
On Sept. 15, King received a tip from a man in the Country Estates neighborhood near Kalispell about a sighting of a dog that matched Katie’s description. King had a friend, Jan Leland, rush to the area. Unfortunately, it was too late.
Related: Preparing for the Worst: How to Prevent Your Dog From Getting Lost and Never Found
King remained determined. She and Leland began searching the neighborhood, using binoculars to cover more ground. And then, under a tree, was a black and white dog.
She said, “Katie,” and the dog came right over.
“I just bear-hugged her, I wasn’t going to let her go,” King told the outlet. “Tears were flying, we were screaming, everybody is high-fiving, hugging each other. People are stopping in their vehicles, getting out and hugging us. I think the whole neighborhood knew that we found her.”
Despite losing 12 pounds and being severely dehydrated, Katie is expected to make a full recovery.
“I really want to thank the Flathead community,” King told the newspaper. “It was just amazing, the teamwork that was put out to find a strangers dog.”
Related: The Sad Dog Lost on a London Bus Has Found His Way Back Home
