A family’s 10-year-old Shih Tzu, lost in the Ridgecrest, California desert over Thanksgiving weekend, is rescued by a group of strangers.
Carly, the Brannan family’s 10-year-old Shih Tzu, was frightened by the loud fireworks and ran away during the family’s annual camping trip.
“We were sitting there around a campfire one night, early evening, and it was like the third day we were there and all of a sudden when this loud bomb hit,” Carly’s owner, Peggy Brannan, shares KMPH.
Peggy Brannan continued: “We all stood together and started looking for her, but we couldn’t find her. The next day we all went to pick her up and call her. I couldn’t find it.
And for the next two days, the Brannan family searched for Carly in the desert but could not find her.
According to KMPH, Brannan’s granddaughter even posted about Carly’s disappearance on a Ridgecrest Facebook page, asking if anyone had found their beloved dog.
A week after Carly disappeared, a group of strangers from Lancester found the dog 10 miles from Brannan Campground.
The group was out for day rides on their dirt bikes in Ridgecrest when they found Carly.
Peggy Brannan’s granddaughter Bridgette said: “I can’t believe, like she’s ten years old. She has really bad cataracts. And, you know, she’s like shaved, so for her to be out there in 28 degree weather, you know, at night with the winds and all that.
“As if I couldn’t, for a week I couldn’t believe she actually survived. I’m still in disbelief. She continued.
The family considers their reunion with the 10-year-old pooch their Christmas miracle. Peggy Brannan said: “They are just as important to us as my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren and my family. They are part of the family.