A missing dog has been reunited with her family in Big Bear, California, after surviving a harrowing 19 days in the great outdoors during a snowstorm.
Missing Dog Disappeared in Snowstorm
Marlee, a Boxer/Bulldog mix, was recently riding along in a car with her owner, Lizbeth Berzinski, when the vehicle hit a patch of black ice. The car crashed, and Marlee jumped out of a backseat window. Though Berzinski chased after the dog and called her name, she was unable to locate the fur baby she had raised since she was a puppy.
“Immediately we jumped out the car and ran after her, calling her name just trying to get her to stop,” Berzinski told KCAL News. “I was just completely heartbroken.”
Marlee had never experienced snow before, so Berzinski and her husband, Jim, were particularly terrified that something bad would happen to the canine while she was exposed to the elements. The couple papered the town with lost dog posters and posted on social media, begging locals to let them know if they spotted Marlee.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to see her again,” Jim told the news outlet.
Marlee Reappears
Surprisingly, some people did catch a glimpse of Marlee during this time, but they never managed to grab her. After a while, however, Marlee started frequenting the same house, night after night, around 8:30 p.m. Homeowner Jenny Shelton caught the pup’s presence on her surveillance camera and started leaving food out for her. But every time Shelton attempted to catch her, the dog would run away.
It took almost three weeks, but Shelton’s son eventually lured the dog close enough to hold onto.
“He had steak and pork chop. And he started putting pieces out,” Shelton told the news outlet of her son’s rescue mission. “And when [Marlee] had her very last piece, he just put his arms around her and grabbed her.”
Marlee is now back home with her family, and will hopefully never stray so far from them again.
