It’s always great news when lost dogs are found safe, but one recent story is truly miraculous: the dog survived five months on his own in the wild, defying the odds and surviving the elements.
Costa is a three-year-old Newfoundland cross in the care of Greenacres Rescue Centre, in Haverfordwest, Wales. According to the BBC, the dog was being rehomed in September when he ran away.
His carers searched for him for months, and while there were occasional sightings, a sudden disappearance made they think he was gone for good.
“He literally just vanished,” centre manager Mikey Lawler told BBC. “We searched for him – staff and volunteers were going looking for him and he was being spotted occasionally, usually very early in the morning or quite late at night, but by the time we got up there he’d be gone again.”
“This went on and on, all within a six-mile radius. Then he just disappeared completely for about a month, we didn’t have any sightings at all. We really thought he’d died.”
But hope was renewed again when local group Drone Search and Rescue For Lost Dogs UK got sight of Costa on one of their cameras, and jumped into action to catch him. They set up a trap with chicken broth, and Costa took the bait.
By the time he was caught, Costa had been alone in the wild for about five months, bearing harsh cold, rain and snow and going without a reliable source of food — but despite that, he was still in relatively good shape.
Greenacres Rescue wrote on Facebook that he was “a bit tatty around the edges” but “in pretty good condition considering he’s weathered the four hardest months of the year.”
“For a dog on the run for five months, finding his own food, he’s by no means emaciated or underweight, he’s not in a bad condition at all… I was expecting far worse,” Lawler told the BBC.
Greenacres wrote that they had him checked out at the vet, and everything came back clear. “Costa was a superstar at the vet – nervous but so cooperative!” they wrote.
After his miraculous survival, Costa is now waiting for his forever home.
Wow, how amazing that Costa survived so long on his own and is finally home safe! What a miracle ❤️
Please share this amazing news!
