Woman Quits Job To Search For Lost Pet Dog, Finds It After 57 Days

A woman in Washington State resigned her job as a postal carrier to hunt for her 7-year-old Border collie, Katie, and incredibly, found the canine after 57 days.

Katie had managed to escape the hotel room in July while her owners -- Carole and Verne King -- were vacationing in Kalispell, Montana. Presumably, the dog figured out how to unlock the door and escaped when the couple had gone to attend a stock car race one night.

The hotel’s front desk operator told the couple that he saw a dog hurriedly making an exit from the hotel door several hours earlier, Dailywire reported.

The couple, drawing from their work experience as law-enforcement officers in Los Angeles, worked methodically to find the dog.

But the first 15 days of search proved futile, and the couple turned to technology. They employed night-vision goggles and animal-tracking cameras to track down the pet.

The camera they used is typically used by wildlife researchers to spot animals. The couple also reportedly bought animal traps that they deployed, using Katie’s favorite snack as baits.

According to a report by Huffington Post, they took to social media, posted countless flyers in the small town Kalispell, responded to calls ceaselessly, drove and walked for miles screaming Katie’s name hoping for her to return.

The final discovery and reunion with Katie is credited to a stranger who pointed her out to the couple resting under the shade of a tree. Carole told the Daily Inter Lake newspaper, “I just bear-hugged her.” She went on to add, “People are stopping in their vehicles, getting out and hugging us. I think the whole neighborhood knew that we found her.”

Katie was even greeted very warmly by the vet at the clinic where she was taken by her owners moments later. According to Carole, “the doctor walked up to her and she said, ‘Is this the famous Katie?’’ and Carole was touched.

At the time of being found, Carole said Katie had lost 12 pounds, was alarmingly dehydrated and on the edge of starvation. The Huffington Post reported that Carole said Katie is expected to recover soon.