Snoqualmie couple reunited with ‘walking miracle’
July 14, 2011
By Dan Catchpole
Beloved dog is returned after being lost for 54 days
Cheryl Hanson hugs her 13-year-old black Lab, Misty Si. Misty survived 54 days in the forest near Snoqualmie after getting lost on a walk. By Dan Catchpole
Misty Si is a walking miracle as far as her owners, Cheryl and Steve Hanson, are concerned. They thought their 13-year-old black Lab had died after going missing near Snoqualmie Point Park on May 11.
It was a terrible thing for the Hansons to try to accept. With no children, their dogs are their offspring, and Misty’s disappearance had left a gaping hole in their lives.
Cheryl was hiking on Winery Road with friends and their dogs when Misty vanished. She and Misty had walked the road countless times, but the older dog lagged behind the group.
Cheryl kept an eye on her, but when she checked the last time, Misty was gone. Cheryl and her friends scoured the area, but couldn’t find her.
The Hansons and friends launched an all-out effort to find Misty. They made posters and repeatedly searched the area from sunrise to sunset.
But May dragged on and turned into June.
The Hansons realized there was no way Misty could still be alive with her bad hearing and bad hips.
“We figured she was gone for sure,” Cheryl said.
They began taking down the posters.
“It was terrible. That was our one connection to that area — continuing to put up signs,” she said.
Chance encounter
Allan Landdeck was running late as he and his black Lab, Leo, hiked along Rattlesnake Ridge the morning of July 4. He figured he might be able to save some time by cutting down the steep slope down to his daughter’s house.
He quickly regretted his decision.
“There was no trail. It was in deep woods,” the North Bend resident said.
Landdeck and Leo cut through undergrowth so thick he could only see a few feet away. He could barely see his feet as he stepped through the salmonberry, ferns, small alder and devil’s club.
About halfway down, Landdeck saw a maple tree with a well-worn path about 3 feet wide around its trunk. Had he been just a few further away from the tree, he would have missed it.
Despite running late, his curiosity prompted him to check it out. He approached cautiously, thinking there might be a nearby bear den.
Curled up on the other side of the tree was Misty Si. Her red collar grabbed Landdeck’s eye. Without his reading glasses he couldn’t make out the information, but he knew she belonged to someone.
Misty didn’t respond to him or Leo when they came near. She was fur and bones, and covered with mosquitoes.
“I thought for sure I had a dead dog. I was taking her down to be buried by her loved ones,” he said.
Misty couldn’t walk down, so Landdeck picked her up. Even though she had dropped from 70 to about 30 pounds, walking with her was difficult given the terrain.
“I thought, ‘How the heck am I going to get her out? I can’t even get myself out,’” he said.
The slope eased off, and he managed to make it to a woman’s house with Misty. The woman called the number on the tag.
Cheryl Hanson was mowing her lawn when her cell phone started vibrating in her pocket.
“The woman said we have Misty Si, but she is dying,” Cheryl said.
She and her husband jumped in the car feeling a mix of excitement and worry. They still had in their car the rescue box they had assembled when Misty disappeared.
The Hansons raced over to the woman’s house, where Landdeck was waiting with Misty along with his wife and his daughter. As they approached, he set the dog down.
“When Allan put her on the ground, and she started to wobble toward us, it was the best feeling in the world,” Cheryl said.
Slow but sure recovery
After being reunited with Misty, the Hansons rushed her to VCA Alpine Animal Hospital in Issaquah, the closest one that was open on July 4.
Despite her ordeal and her gaunt appearance, Misty Si was in good shape, the veterinarian told them. She wasn’t even dehydrated.
But bringing a dog back from the brink of starvation is not an easy task. The body’s organs have begun shutting down, and reviving them has to be done slowly and carefully. Rushing the process can trigger harmful, even fatal side effects, such as heart failure, said Dr. Teri Weronko, a veterinarian at Snoqualmie Valley Animal Hospital in Fall City. Weronko is overseeing Misty’s recovery.
With careful steps, Misty is getting back to her old self. When Cheryl takes their other dog, KC, a 2-year-old black Lab, for a walk in the morning, Misty tries to get in the car with them.
“She thinks she’s ready to go, but not yet,” Cheryl said.
Misty’s recovery has amazed Weronko.
After 54 days in the woods, “her body had started eating itself,” she said. “Despite her critical condition, her will to go on was still strong.”
She credits the Hansons with keeping Misty in good health to begin with, but even so, the odds were against her.
“I don’t know how she survived that long. She really shouldn’t have,” Weronko said.
Cheryl knows why.
“It’s a miracle. She’s a miracle,” she said while rubbing Misty’s neck. “Something was watching over her.”
Getting your pet back home
- Locating the owners of licensed pets is easier and quicker than for unlicensed animals. Missing licensed pets are searched for by Regional Animal Services of King County’s Pet Detective Program volunteers.
- If you’re going on vacation and someone is taking care of your licensed pet, provide updated contact information to 206-296-2712 before you leave.
- Most vet clinics offer micro chipping services, where a rice kernel-sized chip is implanted into your pets, providing a link to your contact information. Make sure to keep your contact information up to date with the microchipping service.
- Check with the King County animal shelter if your pet goes missing. A list of dogs and cats at the shelter is updated every day. Call 206-296-PETS. Other shelters in the area that might have lost pets includes PAWS in Lynnwood, Seattle Humane in Bellevue and the city of Seattle.
- File a report about your missing pet with Regional Animal Services by calling 206-296-PETS. Also, file reports with www.petharbor.com and www.returnmypet.com.
- The Missing Pet Partnership, a local volunteer organization, has information about how to best search for your pet on its website, www.missingpetpartnership.org. It also offers search services for a fee.
- Ask for permission to post lost pet flyers with photos in local storefronts, near cash registers and other highly visible locations.
Missing dog
Ziggy was last seen in North Bend on July 8. He is an 11-year-old black Lab mix and weighs about 60 pounds. He has a very gentle demeanor, but as with many lost animals, may act skittish.
If you have seen him, call 269-7070.
Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.
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Cheryl: VERY glad to see Misty was found. Very sorry you had to go through that. Looking forward to you walking with us up at the lake again. Come see us.
Casey, Hunter, Shawna
Just a note to all hikers with dogs….put a Swiss bell on your dog’s collar. Many years ago, I started doing this with my dogs when I was doing Search and Rescue, that way we could hear our dogs if we could not see them, when they alerted on a missing person. I have given this tip to several of my clients who hike with their dogs and one actually found her lost dog because she could hear the bell on her dog’s collar off on a distant ridge line. Especially in this case, with a dog who may have limited hearing, if YOU can HEAR where your dog is, you are so much more LESS likely to lose track of him/her in the first place. Just a great tip to help keep your pet safe in the woods while hiking!
I just read this story and am so happy that man found your dog. It was unbelievable that he was led to that place by the tree. I bawled like a baby reading this story, picturing this poor dog waiting out there for 54 days. So happy he is home. That dog has a human angel. Beautiful!