Dog News

Dog Reunited with Family Two Weeks after Fleeing 60-Car Pileup

by Melanie

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1.5.13 60 Car Pileup
Charles Zepp with his dogs and Yuna

When Yuna took off after a massive, 60-vehicle collision, Chris and Jackie Fyhr were devastated, and thought they’d never see their beloved German Shepherd again.  But two weeks later they were in for the surprise of their lives.

On December 18th, Chris and Jackie were moving from Las Vegas to Seattle, driving in an SUV with their two dogs in the cargo hold, when they came upon the huge crash just outside of Yreka, CA.  Chris pulled over to the shoulder, but within seconds, a vehicle came careening into the rear of the SUV, sending it into a spin.

“That was definitely terrifying.  I didn’t know if we were gonna go down the canyon,” he said.  “My very first thought was my dogs.  Our vehicle had been hit in the cargo area where my dogs were.”

Jackie and Chris rushed to check on them.  One dog just sat there trembling, but Yuna bolted into the darkness.

“We tried for hours to find Yuna,” Chris said.

Emergency personnel even helped search once injured victims had been transported and the scene was beginning to be cleared.  But Yuna was gone.  Eventually, the Fyhrs knew they had to continue on to Seattle.

“It was absolutely horrible,” Chris said.

On December 29th, fortune smiled on them.  Maureen Wagner and her husband Charles Zepp noticed a strange dog on the hill adjacent to their property.  They tried to catch it, but had no luck.

“The dog was skittish and ran each time we tried to approach,” said Maureen.  “So we put a large bowl of food out on the patio and went inside the house.

They watched as the cautious, yet ravenous dog slowly approached, then devoured the food.  It backed away, but stayed close.  Next, they left a ham bone.  The dog snatched it and fled to the hillside.  The following day Maureen saw the dog on the hill.

“This time, I placed a bowl of dog food by the front gate.  She came by, ate and then stayed,” said Maureen.

She approached the timid dog, and was able to grab her collar and coax her in through the gate.

“Once inside the yard she allowed us to pet her and we were able to read the tags on her collar,” Maureen said.  Her name was Yuna.

Maureen called the Nevada phone number, but it was disconnected.  Then she called the number on the rabies tag, which directed her to a cell phone number.

“Jackie, who answered the phone, was overcome with joy when she heard the words, ‘we have your dog,’” said Wagner.  “She screamed, sobbed, laughed and kept repeating, ‘is she okay?’”

“Emotions flooded out at that point,” Chris said.  “We were elated that Yuna had been found.  It had been almost two weeks.”

He made arrangements to meet up with Charles on December 31st at a rest area along the interstate to pick up his much-missed dog.

“What a fantastic way to start the new year,” said Maureen.  “Yuna was home again on New Year’s Eve.  It was wonderful to be able to return her to her owners.”

Chris said he was overcome by the kindness and compassion showed by Maureen and Charles, as well as the dedicated rescue crews who so diligently helped him and Jackie try to find their dog.

“We want to express our gratitude to Charles Zepp and Maureen Wagner,” said Chris.  “We are so grateful Yuna was found.”