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Lost dog survives 43 days in the Washington state wild

By Ben Hooper
A dog who fled her owner outside a veterinarian's office was found after 41 days in the wild. Photo by sweetlouise/Pixabay.com
A dog who fled her owner outside a veterinarian's office was found after 41 days in the wild. Photo by sweetlouise/Pixabay.com

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March 8 (UPI) -- A Washington state woman was reunited with her dog after the canine survived 43 days wandering alone in the wild.

Judy Campbell said her pug and cattle dog mix, Cookie, has had anxiety issues that led her to flee since even before she adopted the pet from the Spokane Humane Society.

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She said cookie had gone missing for a month right before she adopted her, so she knew to be careful with the dog outside. Cookie managed to get loose, however, when she jumped out of Campbell's arms outside the Lincoln Heights Veterinary Clinic.

Campbell and Barb Baumann put up posters and lost dog ads on websites and social media, and soon reports of sightings came in from various locations around the area.

"You try to figure out their pattern, because they usually circle," Campbell told The Spokane Spokesman-Review. "But her circle was so big and unpredictable."

Campbell eventually solicited help from the private dogcatcher who managed to find Cookie when she went missing just prior to her adoption.

The dogcatcher tracked Cookie to northern Browne Mountain, where he was finally able to capture the canine after a 60-hour stakeout.

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Campbell said Cookie is skinnier than before, but she is eating well and settling back in at home.

"I looked at her and said, 'God, I wish you could talk. Where did you hunker down? Where did you eat?'" she said. "We have mysteries out this of this story."

A Paradise, Calif., family were faced with a similar mystery when their dog, Kingston, survived on his own in the wild for 101 days after he fled while his family was evacuating ahead of the Camp Fire last year. The Ballejos family said they suspect Kingston survived by hunting skunks, as he was found reeking of the famously odoriferous animals.

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