'Lost, cold, hungry' husky rescued from Grand Canyon, reunited with family
YAVAPAI COUNTY, Ariz. - A lucky pup is alive and back home after spending weeks in Grand Canyon National Park alone. Her welcoming home is all thanks to a social media post and two animal rescue groups.
On Jan. 31, Amy Goodwin took to social media to alert people of what looked like a stranded dog in the national park.
Katrina Karr, president and founder of Yavapai Humane Trappers, partnered up with Teresa Schumann with Northern Arizona Animal Search & Rescue, and respond to the post.
"Saying that she seen a husky type dog at the Grand Canyon up at Hermit's Rest. The pictures that she posted, the dog was definitely scavenging," Karr said.
Over several days, Karr and her team tracked the dog along the rim but unfortunately lost sight a few times.
"Usually dogs stay in an area where they are fed in. They’ll keep coming back to the feeding station. This wasn’t the case. We’ve seen it before where they gained enough energy where they left the area," she said.
Finally, they regained sight of her and set a trap. On Feb. 5, they were able to rescue her and reunite her with her owners who live in the village.
That's when they learned her name was Sky and she's three-years-old.
"He told us that Sky was able to dig underneath, right before the snowstorm, underneath the fence and she had been missing a little over two weeks," Karr explained, saying dogs are very resilient, but with the snow and very cold conditions she’s amazed Sky was able to survive.
Of course, her owners happy she did.
"They were so happy that she was home. They re-did the whole fence line so that she won’t be getting out anymore," Karr said.
Luckily the rangers were very helpful and let them continue their rescue operations as it could be a day to 30 days to trap an animal.
She also offers a word of advice if you see a lost dog: To not chase it.