In late December a woman named Barbara Bagley experience a tragedy when her car, which was also carrying her husband and two shelties, crashed. Tragically one of her shelties and her husband died as a result, and to Barbara’s increased sadness, her other dog, Dooley, bolted from the scene of the crash (dog walking services nyc).

Dooley Dog

Of course, this was devastating to Barbara, but something in her kept nagging that Dooley was still alive and she thought of him often. When she was physically able, she started a search for her beloved dog. Though there was a pause in the search on January 6th when the dog was presumably found dead, a spotting of the sheltie over three weeks later regenerated hopes.
Then, again in mid-February a railroad crew spotted the same dog, and while eventually it was confirmed to be Dooley, the crew and even Bagley was having trouble catching the very skittish dog.
Finally, a woman on horseback with help from another Jeep driver cornered the pooch and took him home to his ecstatic owner. Dooley was in the wild, by himself for 53 days, surviving on whatever he could find and lost 22 pounds.

Dooley and Barbara shortly after his recovery

What an amazing story of hope and survival!
While it began with a tragedy, it ends with Dooley helping Barbara heal. She said, “He’s the physical and mental affection that I need to recover…Dogs are so great because of their unconditional love.”
Now Dooley and Barbara take their normal walks with higher spirits.

Main image and information via Associated Press, Second image via doyoulovebags.blogspot.com