Dog lost for 55 days in Boundary Waters found safe

ELY, Minn. (FOX 9) - Whether it's person-to-person or man-to-man's best friend, establishing a relationship usually involves building trust. An experienced camper's ability to do just that with a lost dog named Lessie brought the canine's nearly two month-long odyssey to a close.

"So excited. I knew that she could survive. Dogs are really smart. But it that's a hard place for a dog to be lost," said Jennifer Cadigan, with The Retrievers, an all-volunteer, non-profit that specializes in helping families find their missing dogs.

Lessie, a 6-year-old German Shepard, bolted after the car she was in with one of her owners ran into a wall and flipped on the Gunflint Trail, just north of Grand Marais at the end of June.

The Retrievers put the word out to the community to be on the lookout for Lessie. About a month later, she was spotted on the east side of Ham Lake, about three miles from the accident scene.

A man from Minneapolis, who knows the area, volunteered to camp there for a few days to see if he could find Lessie and bring her home.

"We talked about where to go, what to do, how to do it. He had helped with a few other Retrievers cases, so he had a little bit of training, and he relied on that, and he did a great job," said Cadigan.

The camper put some food and a trail cam behind his campsite, and it caught Lessie on camera the very first night. Little by little, he convinced her to trust him and by the fourth day, he was able to feed her by hand and eventually put a leash on her and walk her out of the woods to be reunited with her owners.

"She was real apprehensive at first, which is normal. But as soon as she realized who it was, she exploded. Just so happy and jumping on her mom and just so happy to be there," said Cadigan.

The Retrievers believe Lessie survived on a diet of fish guts because the campground was a popular place for people to clean their fish.

They say Lessie's story should be a reminder to the families of other missing dogs to keep the faith.

"If your dog gets lost, don't give up. You know they are super smart. They can survive. Keep looking. Keep trying. Don't give up," said Cadigan.