Arizona community helps reunite lost dog with family

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. - A lost dog's return brought a family one more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. 

Big picture view:

Chase, a four-year-old Bernedoodle from Southern California who was roaming around Arizona for a week before his family found him. It's an incredibly happy ending that the family said wouldn't have been possible without the help of the community.

The backstory:

"We had a list full of things to be thankful for and this was just added to our list," said Chase’s owner, Daniel Buda.

The Southern California family made a pit stop in Goldfield Ghost Town in Apache Junction, where an Old West reenactment spooked the furry spectator.

"He got very scared and pulled out of his leash, simply disappeared," Buda said.

A dog named Chase sent this family on a chase of their own.

"I spent the next two days running around the whole area," Buda said, but had no luck.

Local perspective:

That’s when the family connected with Samson’s K9 Search and Rescue on Facebook, a group dedicated to reuniting lost dogs with their owners.

"The majority of dogs will run a couple miles away from home, and this is a little bit of a different situation since home was in Southern California," said Kim Powell, the director of Samson’s K9 Search and Rescue.

The search relied on flyers and home security footage.

"Members of the community sending them in, saying, ‘Hey, he was here at this time,’" Powell said.

"Every neighbor, everybody was willing to get involved," Buda said.

Dig deeper:

Community tips and thermal drone technology led them right to Chase.

"This wonderful woman, Ellen spotted Chase on the mountain, and this was the sixth time at this point that he had crossed the US 60," Powell said.

"Chase is a lapdog. Never been much out of the house except on neighborhood walks. I’m thinking, how is he surviving this? How is he surviving the coyotes, the rattlesnakes? How is he surviving Highway 60?," Buda said.

But he did. After a week, the Bernedoodle pup was reunited with his family right in time for the holidays.

"We had a list full of things to be thankful for, and this was just added to our list," Buda said. "It has been, for our family, an amazing adventure, and we’re very grateful."

What's next:

The family said they are hoping to come back to Arizona so they can personally thank everyone in the community that played such a big role in getting their dog home.

For more about Samson's K9 Search & Rescue click here.