Colorado Dog Missing for Over a Week Found Trapped in ‘Steep’ Snow Piles Outside Her Home

• Pepper, a Bernese Mountain Dog/Black Lab mix, went missing from her home in Blue River, Colorado on February 22
• Summit Lost Pet Rescue helped Pepper’s owners find the dog by organizing a search and helping with lost pet fliers
• The dog was found trapped among steep snowbanks 10 days after she disappeared

A missing dog was found trapped in the snow just steps from her owner’s home in Colorado – 10 days after she initially went missing.

Pepper, a 6-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog/Black Lab mix, went missing from her home in Blue River on the morning of February 22nd. In response, her family called Summit Lost Pet Rescue for help, the organization announced Wednesday on Facebook.

Pet owners are encouraged to leave a “scent station” of dirty clothes and a dog bed on their porch, set up cameras, spread awareness on social media and start searching for the pup. Pepper’s family followed these instructions and distributed flyers around the neighborhood about the missing dog.

6-year-old puppy Pepper near where she was rescued from a show in Colorado.

Facebook/Summit Lost Pet Rescue

“Snow is VERY deep in Blue River with very high snow drifts,” Summit Lost Pet Rescue wrote on Facebook about the search.

“Since no one had seen her, we assumed she was stuck somewhere nearby or that she had been picked up and left the Blue River. We expanded our search down nearby trails; however, it was more likely she was stuck in the snow, so the family and our volunteers spent a lot of time snowshoeing and looking for places to get stuck.”

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During the search, those participating in the Spotted Dog Tracks “circle the neighborhood” near the pet’s home.

Finally, on the tenth day of the search for Pepper, a volunteer named Kevin and his dog Finn solved the case when they went down to a creek they had checked out before.

Finn was “very interested in this location,” and the volunteer soon realized it was because Pepper was stuck “in a small creek area surrounded by steep snowbanks,” according to Summit Lost Pet Rescue.

The dog was discovered hiding under a fallen tree whose roots were the same color as her black fur, and Kevin spotted her thanks to the “shiny” dog tag on her collar.

Pepper, a 6-year-old dog who was found surrounded by steep snowbanks after she disappeared from her home for 10 days.

Facebook/Summit Lost Pet Rescue

“He immediately contacted the owner, who arrived with his son to help. They did calming techniques and snowshoeed in a deep creek, and it took 3 of them to get her out!!!! PEPPER WAS SAFE,” Colorado Rescue added. “She ended up stuck 714 feet from her house!!”

“Thank you to our wonderful volunteers and Pepper’s family who helped with this mission and spent many days in this search. It took a lot of creative and strategic thinking and techniques, patience and hard work to determine her whereabouts. Team Pepper for the win! !!”

Pictures shared by Summit Lost Pet Rescue show Pepper in the area where she was found and adjusting to life indoors. The organization added that Pepper has since been examined by a veterinarian and is “doing well.”

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Pepper’s discovery comes shortly after another Colorado puppy was photographed alive 11 months after an avalanche in March 2023. Ullr, a border collie and Rottweiler mix, was separated from his owner, Jacob Dalbey, in the avalanche but was eventually spotted alive, according to in Dalbey’s latest GoFundMe post.

“After 341 days, 11 months to the day of setting up tracking/food cameras and moving them around in hopes of luring Ullr into one to finally get confirmation of what I knew all along, it happened…” the dog’s owner wrote in updating.

The owner noted that plans were in place to “bring my incredibly strong boy to safety.”

“Continued contributions will help me maintain the ability to search and find Ullr and bring him to safety. As I have done since day one. Thank you very much!” he added.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education