Two Dogs Lost In A Forest For Over A Week And Rescued By Different Hikers In An Incredible Tale Of Fate

The tale of Woody and Brock is one that has a movie deal written all over it. In fact, the adventurous tale of the two dogs who got lost in the forest turned into an especially heartwarming reunion for the family that lost them. On Monday October 26, Dennis Elton took his two dogs — a Brittany spaniel, named Woody, and a chocolate lab, named Brock — into the forest near Mount Saint Helens. Elton relayed that the dogs seem to have caught a scent once they exited his truck and they took off.

Despite spending several hours looking for the dogs, Elton was unsuccessful that day. The dog owner says he actually lost his voice calling for his two pets. Elton was distraught and knew his family would be as well.

“I looked for them for hours. I’ve never left a dog in the woods before.”

Once he returned home without his and his family’s beloved Brittany Spaniel and Chocolate Lab, the family immediately set about trying to find the two dogs. They utilized social media, and even Craigslist, to post several pictures of the family dogs and the location they were last seen. The family hoped Woody and Brock would be found by this method; however, they continued to search privately, as well. Denise Austin wife, Shawn, says that they were all heartbroken. She went on to admit that her husband actually spent approximately $500 on gas and drove hundreds of miles in an effort to locate the two dogs. He continued to return to the forest but did not have any luck locating the dogs.

The Elton family’s prayers were eventually answered on Sunday when they received good news. It turns out that two good Samaritans had found the two dogs at completely different points on the trail in the Gifford Pinchot forest. Oddly enough, the two dogs were found approximately 25 miles away from where they had first escaped from their owner.

https://www.facebook.com/theisen45/posts/1094677837223255

USA Today reported that hiker Corey Theisen found the Spaniel, Woody, while he was out hiking with some friends. He relayed that the dog dog was completely soaked to the bone from recent rains and seemed very cold and scared. Unable to see any one close by that could claim the dog and since he was not wearing a collar Theisen said he became worried for the lost animal. He managed to lure the dog out and after wrapping him in something warm. He took Woody home and bathed him. Using the same method that the Eltons had implemented, Corey took to social media and asked his Facebook friends to help him locate the owners of the dog. Hours later he got the phone call.

Dennis Elton was more than overjoyed when someone alerted him to the fact that Woody had been found and he contacted Corey immediately to pick up the pet he had almost lost hope of finding. Woody had been with the family for 11 (human, not dog) years.

The miraculous tale of the two dogs lost to the forest did not end there though. As Dennis picked up the Spaniel from Portland, Oregon and drove home, he resigned himself to going old school in his method to search for his other pet, a 1-year-old chocolate lab. Just then, Brock received yet another phone call from his wife. Someone had found the lab and posted about it to social media.

A hiker by the name of Nick Gibson had found the chocolate lab while hiking near Lava Canyon the very same weekend that Woody had been found. According to KGW Portland, he brought Brock back to his home in Camas. Soon, Craigslist had put him in contact with Shawn Elton, who told him the amazing story of the two lost dogs found in the same weekend. On the way home with Woody, Dennis called Nick and despite it being about 3 a.m. in the morning, he was able to go to Camas and pick up Brock, as well.

Two dogs who were found wandering in the woods have been reunited with their family https://t.co/Fi6CtTCdri pic.twitter.com/0d78mhIlqV

— Daily Mail Femail (@Femail) November 7, 2015

Both of Eltons’ dogs survived the week lost in the forest and managed to be found about 25 miles away from where they initially entered the forest. Then, in a miraculous turn of events the two dogs were rescued the same weekend. On his way home with one dog, Dennis was able to make a quick detour to pick up his family’s other pet. Brock and Woody were saved by the kindess of two strangers and thousands of online animal lovers.

The Eltons were simply grateful that hikers found their two dogs alive and well after they were lost in the forest for a week.

[Photo via Corey Theisen/Facebook]