Tequila, a miniature poodle

One of the reasons that lots of lost dogs are never found is because their owners give up the search, thinking they can't have survived being out on their own. It's an understandable stance to me, but it's often wrong. This is one of many stories that offers proof. Enjoy the story.

Small dog survives 30 days in Wyoming wilderness
Ryan Vogler, the Beacon
June 4, 2009

Windsor resident Eika Haas hugs her miniature poodle Tequila. The dog recently spent 30 days alone in the Wyoming wilderness.

The Wyoming wilderness can harbor some harsh conditions, especially against small animals. Common sense and logic would argue that any helpless lapdog wouldn't survive alone for more than a few days. But, obviously, Tequila, didn't get that message

Tequila, a 10-year-old miniature poodle raised primarily as a breeding dog, recently spent more than 30 days in the wilderness, braving cold temperatures and snow and fending off a slew of predators.

It was quite a change for an animal that had been accustomed to spending a lot of time enclosed. "When a dog is held in a small space like (a kennel) for so long, they can become kennel crazy," said Windsor resident Eika Haas, Tequila's owner.

"Tequila actually developed OCD because of it. She would always walk around in a figure eight even if she was out in an open space."

When she became too old to breed anymore, Eika was more than happy to adopt her and take her into her home. Tequila immediately became attached to Eika and rarely left her side.

"She preferred my lap over anything else," Eika said.

Taking into account how loyal and attached the poodle was to Eika, she and her husband, Steven, believed that they could bring Tequila, along with their other two dogs, Blaze and Emma, with them on a recent camping trip to Wyoming.

Eika and Steven Haas' annual camping trip takes them to a remote part of Wyoming near the small town of Dubois.

Having owned Tequila only for a short time, this would be the first time the Haases would bring her along.

Everything went fine, Tequila always at their side, until halfway through the trip when Eika went out on a kayak to go fishing in a nearby lake. Only two minutes had gone by until they realize that Tequila was nowhere to be found.

"We figured that she was worried that she wasn't by my side, so she ran around the lake to try and find a way to reach me," Eika said. "Even at home, she will run all over the house to try and find me if I walk out of the room."

They immediately began searching for Tequila and continued until nightfall, staying up as late as they could, but were not able to find her.

"We started a campfire and stayed up long past the stars, hoping that Tequila could hear us or be drawn in by the warmth of the fire," Eika said. "She had to be cold and scared."

The dog was obviously in no condition to be out on her own. She had never been in a position like this and had no outdoor experience.

"She had no survival experience," Steven said. "She practically screamed, 'Eat me!' "

Eika and Steven had stayed out there for four additional days, spending most of the time looking for Tequila. Unfortunately, she never turned up. Discouraged by the odds against her, they decided to pack up and face the facts that the likelihood of Tequila surviving was minimal.

"Even as we packed up camp, we kept calling her and hoping that she'd come running back as if she had only been gone a few minutes," Eika said.

As they returned back home, they settled back into their regular routine which helped ease the sorrow of her disappearance, although never able to fully recover from their loss.

About 30 days had gone by since the vanishing of Tequila when they received a phone call from an unrecognizable number. It was Midge Dandridge. She explained how she and her partner Dick Woltering had found their dog out in the forest and had brought her back.

"All I could think about was a pile of fur, bones and a ripped up collar," Eika said. "I pretty much just assumed that they found her dead body."

Eika assumed that if anyone was going to call about Tequila, it would be about how someone had found her carcass.

Thinking that the dog was only missing for a day or two, Dandridge spoke like there was no problem and explained how Tequila was just sitting on her lap. Eika was shocked, to say the least.

"Of all the dogs, we thought that Tequila would be the least likely to survive," Steven said. "There was no reason that she should be alive." During this time in the Wyoming Mountains, there were wolves, coyotes and bears everywhere and it had also snowed.

Excited by the good news, Eika left her house an hour later and was able to reach the Dandridge house in Dubois early the next morning. When Eika was reunited back with her dog, she was amazed by the fact that Tequila had very little wrong with her, aside from the malnutrition. Tequila had lost approximately 38 percent of her body weight. She had gone from 16 to 10 pounds over the course of about 30 days.

"We supposed that her diet included grubs, worms, grasshoppers, grass, seeds or even a mouse," Eika said. "Who knows for sure?" Eika had her examined by a veterinarian and had her put on a special diet to help her gain her weight back and build back her muscle mass.

"Although she was emaciated, slightly dehydrated and covered in burrs, Tequila had survived almost a full month on her own in the wilds of mountainous Wyoming with no injuries or illness," Eika said.

Since her return, Tequila has returned to her old self and has actually improved a bit. Being forced to travel, she now has reduced her OCD problems and has become less skittish.

"You'd never think a poodle could survive," Steven said. "There still must be some instinct in her after all. She has grown from the experience." Thankful and amazed by Tequila's story, Eika now calls the poodle her "miracle dog."

The Haases have agreed never to take Tequila camping with them again. The next time they go back to Wyoming for their annual trip, they will leave her with her saviors, Dick Woltering and Midge Dandridge to babysit her.

"If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have her," Eika said. "We are more than happy and willing to let them take care of Tequila for us."

Source: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090604/WINDSORBEACON01/906040334/1131/WINDSORBEACON01

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