# A Year Ago Today- Kai's Scary Adventure



## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

I shudder to think about all the possible ways this story could have ended badly. Thank goodness for small miracles.

We had just moved into our new house two days before. I didn't have anywhere suitable to run the dogs in the yard yet, so I decided to take the dogs into the forest across the main road from our development. There are miles of old logging roads that are no longer in use, perfect for walking the dogs or playing fetch. It was a Sunday morning, and I didn't really take into account that the wild boar hunters use these roads also. 

I would always use the main trail into the forest as our spot. About a half mile past our landfill there was a good place to pull off the road and park the jeep. About 100 yards or so past that was a cross road. We would make our way up to the cross road and back, me tossing their toys. We got about half way to the intersection, they were both ahead of me, when a truck came blasting around from the road on the left. The guy saw us and slammed on the brakes. Of course, the movement of my dogs was all his dogs needed to bail off the back of his truck. Three hunting dogs came barreling after my guys! Ari and Kai flew past me back towards my jeep. I was like a deer in the headlights......completely disbelieving. Ari is very good at diffusing bad situations, so when he got to our car he just stood there. In the meantime, I'm screaming at the guy to get his dogs as he flies by me in his truck. Here is where the perfect storm was created. At that time Kai was going through one of the fear stages. She was afraid of large vehicles, and of strange men. So when the guy skids to a stop in his big truck and starts yelling at his dogs, she went into panic mode. I was running as fast as I could to catch up, but it was all too much for her. She started running back in my direction, two of his dogs running behind her. I could see the panic in her eyes as she slipped past me, I don't even think she could see me or hear me at that point.

The guy had gotten one of his dogs by my car, then he turns around an flies past me again after the others. They disappeared around the corner to the right. I, again, am hurrying to catch up. I had gotten back to my jeep, Ari was waiting, jumped in and followed. By the time I got to the corner the hunter was driving out. He had retrieved his dogs. He stopped long enough to tell me my dog had just continued to run! Now that the shock was past I was panicking! The road was only drivable for a short distance, then there were hundreds of downed pine trees blocking access. I stumbled over the tree trunks calling for Kai, but she was gone. I finally realized I need to get back home and get my husband to help me search. I didn't have my cell with me, Kai didn't have her collar on, nothing.

We spent the whole day searching, neighbors, family and friends came out to help. We didn't find any sign of her. I was out there with the hubby early every morning, and when he left for work I walked the trails alone. I was so afraid that she had fallen in a sink hole, or that she was injured and couldn't move. Even though we had moved into the house, it still wasn't completely finished. One of the crew was a hunter himself, and he tried to keep my spirits up by telling me that she would be found. He kept telling me that dogs, if lost, would either wait in the area they were lost, or they would find their own way home. He offered to help me look the following day, if she wasn't found by then. That afternoon while I walked the trail Luc borrowed a four wheeler, and cleared all the downed trees so we could have better access. We set up stations with food, water, toys and our clothing. 

On Tuesday when the guys finished work, Hardie changed into long pants and boots to search with me. I drove him as far as I could down the road that she disappeared. I left him because Luc called me to tell me that he wanted to bring the four wheeler out (the hitch for the trailer was on my jeep) Just as I hit the main road my cell phone rang. It was Hardie " I saw her!" he shouted at me. Well hell! That was the fastest I ever drove down a bumpy road, I tell ya! Of course, she was long gone again when I got back to where he was. She spooked and ran as soon as she saw him. Luc felt so guilty for calling me away, but I told him that even if I was there she probably wouldn't have realized it was me anyway. She was in survival mode. We followed the road in the direction she ran until we hit the main Hwy. At least then I knew she was alive, and not trapped down some hole in the ground. That evening we set up some have a heart traps hoping she would go into one. I can't tell you how much my heart would sink every time we checked the traps and found them undisturbed. 

Wednesday brought us nothing, I walked for hours every day. Sometimes my trainer would drive out and walk with me. It was so good to have another person to keep me company. By Thursday morning I was exhausted in every way you could imagine. Luc told me he would take the first shift to check the traps and search. When he came back with no news I felt complete despair at that point. After he left I went out again for a couple hours. At 10:00 I had to head home and get ready to go into town to do my errands. I left the house a half hour later, I had almost got to town when my phone rang. It was Hardie " I just let your dog inside" WHAT!????? For a minute I thought that maybe I had left Ari outside by accident-----I couldn't possibly hope for more than that! I said "Which one?" "Kai! She just strolled in the yard and came right up on the porch, so I let her in" OMG! Screw errands, I was going home to my baby! About a minute later Hardie called again to tell me to drive carefully so I'd make it home in one piece. They know I'm a speed demon on a regular day LOL!

Needless to say I flew home. I ran up to the house, opened the door so the dogs could come out and promptly sunk to my knees so Kai could climb all over me and cover my face with kisses. I didn't care that all the guys were there too watching me cry and hug and kiss my precious Kai. She had found her way home! What an amazing little girl, my 10 month old puppy who had never missed a meal, and never spent a night outside found her way home! She was covered in swamp mud and thorns, had minor scrapes on the back of her legs and her pads were sore for days. I think it's absolutely amazing that she came to the new house where we had only lived for two days before she went missing. Clever girl!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...0207264480292_581720291_7503456_6939068_n.jpg
Not sure if the pic above will work. I did that on google maps to show what I think was her path home


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Oh wow! I specifically remember one post where you mentioned something about losing Kai for 4 days, but I knew it would have brought back bad memories so I didn't want to ask you about it.
I simply can not imagine how you must have felt, just total, total despair. But, what an awesome ending, she made her way all that way home and you'd only just moved in there too. What a smart pup. So, so happy everything turned out perfectly. Thanks for telling us about it, things happening like that make you realise that you do know what you have until you lose it. (if you know what I mean).


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

That story seriously brought tears to my eyes. Wow, you guys really lucked out. I am so glad she is still with you and made her way home!!! What a smart girl. I would absolutely DIE if I lost one of my dogs for that long! I can't imagine how you must have felt!


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

MollyWoppy said:


> Thanks for telling us about it, things happening like that make you realise that you do know what you have until you lose it. (if you know what I mean).


You are absolutely right! I can't imagine what it would be like without her now. We've just started going back into the forest roads now, but always with Luc, and I block the road with the car where we are going to walk. If anyone is going to approach they will be within sight long enough for me to call the dogs. It's summer now and the only cooler place to walk is in the shade of the pine trees.



> catahoulamom
> 
> That story seriously brought tears to my eyes. Wow, you guys really lucked out. I am so glad she is still with you and made her way home!!! What a smart girl. I would absolutely DIE if I lost one of my dogs for that long! I can't imagine how you must have felt!


Yes, we really did luck out in the end. There are so many ways that it could have had a very different outcome. That was probably the most traumatic thing I've been through. I would feel silly admitting that to non-dog people, because they don't understand that our dogs are like kids to us. I was completely hysterical that first day. The worst part in the days that followed was not knowing whether she was dead or alive, or if we would ever find her.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

that brought tears to my eyes.

i'm so glad you got a happy ending.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

OMG! I really can't imagine how horrible every hour must have been. And I'm sooooo glad things turned out alright. What a crafty girl to have made her way back home!


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I would be lying if I said my eyes didn't leak......just a bit....... 
I would have been hysterical too.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

That is just amazing! What a smart dog!


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

Sprocket said:


> That is just amazing! What a smart dog!


Yes she's very smart  I think her dingo heritage might have helped a bit there. I also believe that they will do whatever they can to get back to where they are loved. I always think about how Ari was dumped in my area. His original home is only 3 miles or so, straight shot down the beach. He just kinda floated around the neighborhood for two weeks before I found out about him. I guess he was already used to that lifestyle since his owners didn't care for him


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Yeah, how the hell did Kai know how to come back home? Beats me, I mean, you had only just moved into the house. She obviously adores you, went through hell and high water to get back to you. <3


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

I can look back on it now and laugh a bit.....she took her sweet time getting back, causing me all that grief for four days! There is something there that we can't explain. You hear stories about dogs that traveled even longer distances to get back home. How they KNOW is beyond me. I'm sure she must have tracked back and forth to get her bearings after her initial shock. I think that's what she was doing when she was spotted on the Tuesday. She was heading back in the direction of where we lost her. When she saw Hardie though I think that's when she probably ran across the highway.


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