As they climbed up into the mountains and looked for tracks in the snow, Leona Allen saw a dark figure under one of trees. Allen started rescuing animals for a group called Tahoe PAWS and TLC 4 Furry Friends, which is based in South Lake Tahoe, California. That’s where Allen lives.
The dog had been missing for 4 months when Leona Allen stumbled upon it. She had trekked up the mountain following tracks in the snow until she spotted the dog under a tree. The rescuers were unsure whether the dog was dead or alive as it wasn’t moving. When she got close it opened its eyes.
“I’m pretty sure I screamed” Allen stated.
During his four-month trek through Lake Tahoe wilderness, the dog had to deal with fires, snowstorms, and maybe even a standoff with a coyote. The dog named Russ had ran away from his owner, a Southern California nurse who had been working at a nearby hospital for a short time, in August. Jones, executive director at PAWS, said Russ was scared and ran away from his owner. After Russ ran away, his owner called animal services and put up fliers. Jones said that nursing jobs in other places kept him from coming to Jones’s house for help.
In a post on the Tahoe PAWS Facebook page, it was thought Russ had been lost for good. There was “a lot of adrenaline,” Jones told the Post. After they found Russ, Gaule quickly built a friendship with the dog, which made the rescue possible.
Getting down the mountain took a long time as they were very careful in their descent, the Tahoe PAWS Facebook page says. When Allen and Gaule came back, they gave Russ to animal service officials, who took him to the vet to make sure he was healthy. It took several days before officials found Russ had a microchip in his body, which helped them figure out where his owner was living in Riverside County, Calif. “He was ecstatic,” Jones said.
