A blind dog who had been missing for over a week finally found her way back home. Thanks to a kind-hearted man who found her by accident and rescued her right away.
Sage is a 12-year-old blind Labrador. She went missing in Boulder Creek, California after going to the yard with her family. Sage’s parents thought they have brought their dog with them but realized they accidentally left her outside.
They immediately searched for Sage, hoping she would be around the corner, trying to find her way home. Unfortunately, they didn’t see any sign of her. Ten of their neighbors joined the search which lasted until last night but they all came home disappointed.
Five days have passed and they still haven’t found Sage. Knowing that their senior dog is completely blind, they became really worried about what might happen to Sage.
“We have predators in the area, so we thought there was a chance she’d dies,” Beth Cole, Sage’s mother said. Despite their hopelessness, they continued their search and even gave out flyers to their neighbors and posted on social media.
After all the anxiety and hopelessness, Sage’s family didn’t think they would see their beloved pet again. However, fate found a special way to reunite them.
Dan Estrada, a local fireman, was strolling around the redwood forest with his friend and his two dogs when he spotted a dog lying in the woods.
Estrada said he had mistaken the dog from trash but later found out it was Sage. Because Estrada lives in the neighborhood, the dog is familiar to him. Sage was not moving so he thought she was dead.
This made his heart sink but his friend noticed that the dog raised her head. They immediately climbed towards the dog to rescue her. “I put my arms around her and kissed her and started to pet her. And she was able to hold her head up and wag her tail,” Estrada said.
After being lost for eight days, Sage didn’t eat anything and had lost a lot of weight. She was so weak and could hardly move so Estrada carried her.
They had contacted Sage’s family so by the time they got up the slope; there was a bunch of people waiting for the poor dog.
The dog’s reunion with her family was very emotional. They were crying but were really happy at the same time, seeing Sage alive.
Sage’s family couldn’t thank their neighbor enough for saving their dog and taking her back to them. “Our family is so grateful to have Sage Home,” Cole said. “Our small town has really pulled together around this happy ending made possible by our neighbour Dan.”
Since the search, the Coles had been offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who would find Sage and Estrada humbly said no to the offer.
Instead, he asked the family to donate the money to an animal rescue group to help more dogs like Sage. This only showed Estrada’s pure intentions to help Sage and save her life, without expecting anything in return.