There is almost no hope for a blind dog lost in the mountains, even less for one missing for a week. However, for a Boulder Creek Labrador named Sage, a miracle happened.
After losing Sage, Cole, Sage’s owner, spent the next few days searching the woods surrounding her neighborhood, despite reports of mountain lions in the area. However, Cole and her friends did not find any sign of Sage.
“We had so many people helping with the search. We had signs up, we had it posted everywhere,” Cole said.
But luckily, they received a good news, one of Cole’s neighbors, Dan Estrada, came across a white Labrador while hiking along a stream in the mountains with a friend. Sage surprised them both by popping her head up in curiosity.
Estrada recognized Sage immediately, and ran to help her out. He jumped in the stream and put his arms around her and hugged her. Estrada picked her up onto his shoulders for the rest of the hike out of the canyon.
Sage was carried home to a happy and grateful family, while the lesson of her experience was not lost on her rescuer.
“It’s been harsh conditions and that dog had such a strong will to live,” Estrada said. “And I think everybody has a lesson to be learned from that: Don’t give up.”
