Dog News

Sal’s Saga: Missing Senior Dog Found After Days Stuck In Freezing Mud Pit

by Amy Drew

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KPTV – FOX 12

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What a happy-ending survival story for the holiday season.

Bridget Moeller’s family was heartbroken when their 15-year-old dog, a rescue named Sal, went missing in Vancouver, WA.

“My family had all kind of figured that we probably won’t see her again,” Moeller told KPTV. “There was just a lot of fear and a lot of tears.”

Sal, a slow-moving senior, usually stays close by, but disappeared last Friday night.

Friends and neighbors searched for a couple of days.

“When she still wasn’t home, it got more and more scary, it’s like losing your kid,” said Moeller.

Days later, while her family continued to worry, Jamie Clark was out walking with his daughter, Calia, when they heard a dog in distress.

“She was just yelping out to us, just saying that she needed our help,” said Calia.

They followed the sound, hiking down a steep drop-off, and found Sal — frightened, freezing, and stuck deep in the mud.

“I believe she was holding her head up and when she got tired it probably dropped in the mud. I think she had to keep herself from suffocating in the mud, so she’d either die of suffocation or exposure to the cold,” Clark said.

After freeing her from the ground, he carried her up the hill to safety. He brought her home and gave her a warm bath.

“She probably would have died if we hadn’t come along, we’ve kind of bonded I guess,” said Jamie. “She’s quite a fighter.”

Word of mouth traveled fast and before long, Moeller heard the news. Shortly thereafter, her family was reunited with their beloved Sal, who is recovering nicely.