It took a minute for Oakley to recognize her mom. After all, she’d not seen her family for four months after she was dumped by a trainer in the woods in Greenville, South Carolina. But when she does, the moment is incredibly heartwarming.
When Oakley enters her home, she looks scared and unsure of her surroundings. Her eyes dart around, and she’s hesitant, but when her mom gently says her name, it’s as if her memory snaps back. Oakley was found a few days ago by Anakin’s Trails Stray and Pet Recovery. They describe the emotional reunion: “After about 10 seconds, her dog, Oakley, breaks out of lost dog syndrome and remembers her.”
Anakin’s Trails Stray and Pet Recovery shared some background on how they came to catch Oakley. They shared that four husky mixes (including Oakley) were abandoned back in June and “these furry friends had very little chance of survival.”
They wrote:
“Barely one year old puppies, they had to learn to hunt for food and water, and learn to survive in the hottest of days out in the country rural parts of south Greenville. Many people thought they were strays, but with collars around their necks, they felt it was worth at least mentioning.”
“We were brought in after the owners contacted us about the remaining 3 on the run. For a month, we hung flyers, got leads, spoke to people and placed food and bait stations. Researched and collected information on social media as well. It wasn’t easy, but after several days, we finally located the remaining 3 huskies. They were alive and well! All they needed…was to be captured, but after 3 months on their own…they were experts at survival and far more ahead than we were.”
“Fast forward to Oakley, After hurricane Helene, she went 3 weeks without sightings. We even brought in a drone. 2 nights ago, we tracked her 16 miles down in the town of Gray Court where we got our first sighting of her where the storm pushed her and her sisters out 16 miles south of town. A wonderful couple on one end of the street and another wonderful couple about a mile the other way, were feeding the infamous ‘blonde huskies’. The sightings came in, and with that, we decided to set up our trap at the most recent sighting ….a young family’s home with the most manicured lawn.”
“We knew the grass wouldn’t stand a chance with our potent bait, but it didn’t bother them one bit! Taylor baited every morning, Sharon and I and Lisa baited in the evening, and several nights a week more flyers were hung. Graycourt became our second home. With the people and homeowners that assisted us in every step of the way with being so accommodating and helpful, we felt very welcomed!”
For the next two nights Oakley and another dog named Marley (who is also now safe), showed up on the trap’s camera and on the third night they managed to catch Oakley and her family soon came to get her. Marley, who they caught shortly after, also had a happy reunion with her family.
@anakinstrailsdogsearch Owner reunited with second husky dog (Marley) when she was finally captured by the Anakin’s Trails Stray and Pet Recovery team after surviving in the wild for months with two of her sisters. Marley was captured days after her sister (Oakley) and reunited with her owner . As of now, there is still one sister on the run in the wild that the recovery team is adamantly trying to locate and capture . #anakinstrails #animalrescue #fyp #sc #trustthetrap #animaltrapping #lostdog #dogontherun ♬ original sound – Pixar & Dreamworks
As for why the dogs were abandoned in the first place, there are several unsubstantiated stories circulating on TikTok ranging from the trainer allegedly having a mental health episode and going to hospital to he allegedly had a bad break up and retaliated against the woman who was friends with one of the dog’s owners by dumping the dogs. We could not verify which, if any, of these stories are accurate.
As for why the dogs were abandoned, several unsubstantiated stories are circulating on TikTok. Theories range from the trainer allegedly experiencing a mental health episode and being hospitalized, to claims that he had a bad breakup and retaliated by dumping the dogs, one of whom belonged to a friend of his ex. We could not verify which, if any, of these stories are accurate.
Thankfully, Anakin’s Trails Stray and Pet Recovery have been able to reunite Oakley and Marley with their families. The charity group is now continuing to search for the final husky still on the loose and are determined to get her.
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