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An agonizing 24-day search for a missing dog that led to dozens of people searching the Wakatipu Basin and a family close to heartbreak ended with a miraculous discovery.
Ashley Stewart and Regan Williamson searched everywhere, even using a helicopter, only to find that their dog Roxy had been trapped under logs in the meadow next door.
Stewart said the dog disappeared from his home on the Gibbston Freeway on October 8.
She said Roxy roamed freely in the garden during the day and sometimes chased rabbits to the neighboring field, but never wandered far.
However, that day he first missed dinner and then didn’t show up the next morning, so Stewart said they searched the local area.
“It was amazing. She doesn’t bark, and Regan had personally passed the log pile several times calling her name.”
Unaware that their dog was trapped nearby, the couple began to panic.
“When each of our children was born, she left for one night … both times she came back, and it was literally like a pout.”
The initially upset dog had become best friends with Braden, now 4, who joined the search for the missing pet, clutching a poster.
“We had one of those lows in four days. We just got really excited about it and then I remember thinking, no, she needs us.”
The couple had adopted Roxy from their friend Brian Stone when he died of cancer, and in his memory they redoubled their efforts.
Ms. Stewart began posting on social media, expecting to see the dog, and the couple followed countless leads at all hours of the day.
A man they had not met before, named Andrew Rogers, organized a community search and up to 60 locals participated in a search in Arrowtown and Frankton on the 10th.
Stewart said they were overwhelmed by the mind-blowing efforts of him and others.
But, after three weeks, they had begun to accept the inevitable and were considering how to tell their children the bad news.
On Saturday, they left on a family vacation across the South Island and had just arrived in Cromwell when they received a phone call.
His neighbor, Adam Hill, had been grinding logs on his land and had seen a black silhouette: Roxy.
“We were speechless. We were in shock to have her back. We all had tears in our eyes.”
Roxy was taken to Remarkables Vets and somehow, despite losing 5kg and suffering a bit of stiffness, nothing was wrong with her.
Veterinarian Rachel Burt said it was a remarkable story and that the dog had benefited from a bit of excess weight.
“Since we assume she was trapped the whole time, it’s pretty exceptional and she was very lucky that we had a lot of rain to get enough water to stay hydrated.”
