A 10-year-old terrier named Luna survived 34 days alone in Yellowstone National Park before searchers found her curled up in a little doghouse inside their trap.
Story Highlights
- Luna slipped out of her family’s rented cabin in Yellowstone after a mix-up with the “Do Not Disturb” sign let housekeeping into the room.
- She spent 34 days on her own in a park home to bears, wolves and freezing nights.
- Searchers caught her in a humane trap only days before they would have had to stop for the winter.
- She came out about 10 pounds lighter, but the search leader said she was alert and in good spirits.
Family Vacation Turns Into a Monthlong Ordeal
Luna got loose on Thursday, Sept. 10, while her family was vacationing near Canyon Village, an area of lodges and cabins in the middle of Yellowstone. The family had left her in their rented cabin while they visited Norris Geyser Basin. A mix-up with the “Do Not Disturb” sign led housekeeping staff to enter the room, and the small white terrier slipped out. Some reports describe her as part Chihuahua.
Searchers caught her on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 14. Her family, who are from California, spent the first week looking for her on their own before they asked for help. Luna was spotted dozens of times over the following weeks, but nobody could get close to her.
Yellowstone is no place for a pet to wander loose. Park rules require dogs to stay leashed and within 100 feet of roads, parking lots and campgrounds, and they ban pets from trails and the backcountry entirely. Luna had none of those protections. She had only her instincts against a landscape full of predators, boiling hot springs and dropping October temperatures.
Volunteer Trackers Race Winter’s Deadline
Katie Boucher, president of the Norris Arc Training and Recovery Center, led the volunteer search. She said Luna was so hard to catch because the dog had lived as a feral street dog, meaning a dog living wild without an owner, for her first year of life. Boucher said that first year gave Luna “street skills.” “She knows how to survive,” she said. Boucher’s permits were set to run out the following Monday, and the park’s winter shutdown was coming at the end of the month.
Boucher asked the owners to come back and lay down fresh scent trails. She found the area where Luna slept each night and set a humane “Missy” trap there, a trap that only closes when someone watching from a distance triggers it. To draw Luna in, the team used scraps of the family’s T-shirt and pillowcase instead of food that could attract bears.
Dog Found Alive, Sheltering in a Doghouse
When a storm rolled in, the team put a small doghouse inside the trap for shelter. When they came to reset the trap, Luna was waiting inside it. Her owners reached the trap first, with Boucher close behind. “We got her!” Boucher said. “The feeling never gets old. Pure joy.”
Luna weighed about 18 pounds when she escaped and lost about 10 pounds in her 34 days alone. She went straight to a veterinarian, where her owner held her during the exam. Boucher said Luna was “underweight, but that’s to be expected,” and “alert and in good spirits.”
A Reunion Built on Grit, Not Luck Alone
Luna’s rescue came down to people who refused to quit on a little dog most would have given up on weeks earlier. A park store owner posted signs asking visitors not to chase her. Volunteers used patience, scent and a well-placed trap. In the end, a stubborn, boots-on-the-ground effort matched the toughness of the dog they were chasing.
Sources:
cowboystatedaily.com, cowboystatedaily.com, sfgate.com, kolotv.com
