FOUND DOG - Here is my story!! NIKO IS HOME!!!! After being hit by a car and lost for 31 days in the wilderness Niko was found 100 yards from the original camp where I lost him. On Sunday, August 25th Brad Woods and Troy McKay parked at the trailhead for the Boundary Trail at Elk Pass on road 25 on the east side of Mt St Helens in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. They unloaded their motorcycles and noticed a tarp tent setup on the knoll nearby. They saw this was my “base camp” for Niko, with his photo, dog bed, etc. They immediately recalled seeing the lost dog postings of Niko on FaceBook. Then they headed down the same west leg of the trail where Niko originally disappeared only for 100 yards to see Niko on his way back to camp for the first time! They quickly grabbed him and loaded everything back up to bring him into Woodland (nearest cell phone service) to call me for my address. I’ll admit I was a little skeptical - are you sure? Does he have a green collar? … 30 minutes later, Brad and Troy pulled up and let Niko out. He slowly walked towards my son and I sitting on the curb, skin and bones and one eye closed. It was him! I was crying, my son was crying, I looked up and Brad and Troy where tearful too. Niko had been wandering lost in the wilderness for 31 days and had lost 30% of his body weight over that time. Only he knows what transpired over that time. This all started in Gifford Pinchot National Forest Friday night July 26th (31 days earlier). We had set up camp at the trail head, Road 25 at Elk Pass on the east side of Mt St Helens ready to ride motorcycles the next day and where relaxing when Niko went into the road and was hit by a car. We heard the quick stop of the car but could not see it directly - jumping up, we ran down to the road to see Niko bolting off in a full sprint into the forest westward on the Boundary Trail (#1) towards Bear Meadow. This was at 9:30 at night. My friend Ron and I searched for hours with headlamps including getting up in the middle of the night to search some more. There where no signs of blood, so I held out hope for no concussion or internal injuries, though there was no way to know if he was 500 yards away hiding under a log, 5 miles down the trail, or had veered off on one of the many gravel forest roads nearby. For the next 2 days we detail searched all nearby bushes, adjacent gravel roads and the entire 5 miles of trail towards Bear Meadow stopping every 100 yards to search trail side features and terrain. We even ran westward on the trail from camp 8 miles to Badger Lake in case he had doubled back. I drove back down south to post my first message at the Eagle Cliff Store and Campground - I thought to be the best location for spreading the news. Here I had cell phone coverage and called my son (he was at home that weekend). Needless to say, my son got to hear his dad cry with the news - he could hardly understand my choked up words. Heartbreaking - Niko has been our adventure partner for the last 5 years climbing mountains, backcountry skiing, snow camping, mountain biking, trips to Canada, Montana, Idaho. Niko has even been published in the Mazamas publication for “dogs in the backcountry” with us. We just couldn’t believe that he was gone. At this point I had felt completely defeated. How could I know where Niko decided to go? There where so many variables and the wilderness is so vast. I went home to Vancouver, WA to eat, sleep and re-group. I was a complete emotional wreck - barely functioning at work not knowing what to do, not thinking rationally - only wanting to get back to the camp site to continue to search. Now at this time, if I could go back - I would have hired a tracking guide / dog while Niko’s scent was fresh in the area. If only I had been thinking clearly and understood how far away he had gone, it may not have taken 31 days for his return. So at this point I setup a “base camp” with a tarp tent containing Niko’s dog bed, water, clothes of ours (for scent) and signage so people would know why it was there. I had heard many stories about dogs eventually returning to the last point of contact to look for their owners and I wanted all odds in my favor. I would camp at this spot, spread my scent, go for a morning hike and commute back to Vancouver to work during the day. I captured my urine (bottles) and poured this out along the trail in both directions to give him a scent to follow back to camp, also dragging my clothes on as many bushes as possible to spread scent that way too. On the weekends, I would camp out Friday through Monday morning continuing to search all over. I then continued this routine as diligently as possible. The next weekend, my Son (Caden), Father (David sr.), and close friends Ron, Monica, Perry and Amy where all on hand to search. Amy brought her dog June in hopes to sniff out a trail. So we had people in cars, people on motorcycles, people on mountain bikes, people on foot all looking for a trace of Niko. We scoured the nearby areas and every off-shoot / local road and trail in the area. There was a mountain biking group, Trans-Cascadia that was doing trail work further north and they graciously announced to all their volunteers giving us incredible coverage searching further north. Under Monica and Perry’s lead (lifetime Mazama’s mountaineers), we discussed topography, prevailing wind and possible camper locations (for smell and food / water sources for Niko) to develop our plan of where we thought his nose and survival instincts might lead him for survival. This led us on a path to search south to the waterway that eventually led to Swift reservoir. I continued to follow this plan searching all areas south to Cedar Flats and beyond, including both sides of each water-way to be sure. So the Lewis River side as well as the Lava Canyon / Ape caves area was searched as well. Over this time, we posted flyers with photos and contact info, handed out info to all campers and road construction workers and anyone that we crossed. All where compassionate and wanting to help. During the weekdays I started contacting local animal shelters, veterinarians, and started to post to FaceBook. The FaceBook community was my savior. Animal lovers, friends, family all shared my “lost dog” post all over the internet. It was humbling and encouraging all at the same time (as of this writing, the post has been shared over 800 times). Though I was feeling defeated, random acts of kindness abounded - people on FaceBook offering suggestions, sending “found dog” ads my way, sharing my post to animal loving FaceBook groups that I did not even know existed! Hiking groups, motorcycle groups, biking groups - anyone that was remotely associated with that geographic area seemed to be in the loop - so many people rooting for the return of Niko the adventure dog. The next weekend was the “Bigfoot 200” foot race. They where to have a checkpoint at the same location as my “base camp”, so I reached out to them. Once again - an immediate heart-felt response and offer to broadcast to all their volunteers and participants giving me incredible coverage all along the Boundary Trail and beyond. That Friday night was an incredible thunder and lighting storm - I was concerned about Niko being alone in the woods through such a scary event and at the same time excited that it might strike fear / a wake-up to get him motivated to come find me or anyone to help him. A particular random act of kindness from a “Bigfoot 200” race volunteer - a woman named Lara left me an incredible message about how I had honored Niko with my persistence in searching for him. She encouraged me to forgive myself and believe that Niko appreciated my efforts, no matter what the eventual outcome. I continued searching, posting, talking, asking for help. The word spread farther and farther as it seemed Niko could be covering even more ground. Morton, Randle, Yakima, Trout Lake and beyond all had Niko on their minds. Carson, Stevenson, the Columbia gorge as well. After a while I had felt like I had covered almost all that I could personally and began to surrender my thoughts to the help of others. In my mind, I would continue to go to the area for the next couple months biking and hiking. Whether he was there or not, I might as well enjoy the beautiful area and continue to call out for him and spread my scent. Who knows, he could be half dead under a log and hear me only to be inspired to continue along. A few weeks had passed, and I took another detailed search to the surrounding area and trail network smelling as best as I could. At this point I though I might catch a hint of decay if he had died in the woods along the trail. Recall that I hadn’t known how badly he might be injured from the original car hit that started all this. At this point I actually felt relief - i couldn’t smell anything - he can’t be dead, he must be continuing on. His indomitable spirit would abound and he would find his way out one way or another. At this time, I was encouraged by several FaceBook viewers to try PetAmberAlert.com. So I created maps to determine the best coverage area for their services. I signed up for posters, facebook ads, notifications to local pet related businesses and 1,000 phone calls to local residents. I received many phone calls from people that hadn’t seen Niko, but where anxious to let me know when they did. More universal love and compassion. I was in my routine at this time of checking a long list of lost and found web sites, FaceBook user groups, craigslist ads, etc every morning hoping for some lost glimmer of hope. I became a part of the FaceBook community of animal love - sharing around connections I thought might be there for other lost dogs and searching owners / attempting to pay it forward. I hoped so much that I would get that phone call that Niko was found. About this time Steve and Beverly contacted me. Fellow Shiba-Inu pet owners (Niko is a Shiba), they felt a connection and wanted to help. They cast it out to the Shiba Inu network and came out on several occasions helping to search, leaving food by Niko’s bed / Base-camp and offering encouragement to me. Then came Niko’s return on Sunday, August 25th (one day before National Dog day!) - I was home repairing fence to keep my mind busy with my Son’s help. Then Caden (my son) runs out - dad, there is a message on the phone, someone found Niko!! Skeptical, I called them back - are you sure? Really? Can it be? Tears started rolling again. Then Brad and Troy came over with Niko. Overall, Niko is doing well. I immediately called St Francis 24 hour Animal Hospital and the phone operator offered nothing but kindness and compassion. As long as he was eating, drinking, normal urination and bowel function that he would be fine. Niko has been home now for 4 days now and has been eating, drinking, going on morning walks, business as usual. He saw our local veterinarian, Animal Care Clinic in Vancouver yesterday and he is doing incredible considering what he has been through and is only a matter of time for him to gain his strength back. The only word of caution was that he might not gain all his muscle back due to his age. During this extreme length of time and low nourishment, his muscles have atrophied by the bodies natural survival mechanisms (getting nourishment from his own muscles). Even so, this doesn’t stop Niko from jumping into the car or onto my bed at night! Overall, I hope that this has been an inspiring story for all. Not only a “lessons learned” of possible approaches to finding a lost pet, but also a sharing of the love and compassion that exists in the world. Lastly, If I personally come up lost in the wilderness… please come find me too! I’m not sure if I could last 31 days lost in the woods, but the memory of Niko’s adventure will certainly inspire me to try!! Sincerely, David Alt ————— I want to extend my gratitude to everyone who has commented, posted, shared, encouraged, searched etc. The list of caring individuals, businesses, groups is too long to list. Here is a past write up on Niko for fun: https://issuu.com/mazamas/docs/mazama_february_bulletinissuu Here is a short list of groups / resources that I used to help search for Niko: Please look to them if you are interested in giving a pet a home. (Facebook references) - LOST & FOUND PETS OF LEWIS COUNTY,WASHINGTON - Yakima's Lost & Found Dogs - Dogs of Trout Lake - Lost and Found Pets - West Columbia Gorge Humane Society - Vancouver, WA & Surrounding Areas Lost & Found Pets - SW Washington Lost & Found Pets - Clark County Washington Lost And Found Pet Page - Lost and found pets of Battle Ground, Yacolt and surrounding areas - cowlitz county lost and found PETS - Lost & Found Pets Of Vancouver, WA - Bigfoot 200, 100k, 40mile Running Group - Cowlitz County Rescued Pets - Sharing & Caring Lost & Found Pets Yakima County (other internet based resources) - www.petfinder.com - Craigslist community/lost and found, pets -portland (Clark County & Gorge) -Tri-cities (kpr) -Yakima -Seattle/Olympia (for Lewis County) https://ipawditforward.org https://wcghs.org West Columbia Gorge Humane Society https://southwesthumane.org Humane Society for Southwest Washington https://www.oregonhumane.org Oregon Humane Society https://multcopets.org Multnomah County Animal Services https://www.clackamas.us/dogs Clackamas County Dog Services https://www.dovelewis.org/community/found-pets https://www.pawboost.com Pawboost (98377 for Randle, WA) https://yvpr.org Yakima Valley Pet Rescue http://www.yakimahumane.org Yakima Humane Society