Dog Missing Since July 4th Found, Bull Mastiff Survives 22 Days In Wilderness

A dog missing since the Fourth of July is back home with her family safe and sound, thanks to a lot of great people. A 10-year-old bull mastiff is getting the food and much needed rest she needs after surviving in the Oregon wilderness.

KATU 2 in Portland reports that Lori Davis and Patrick Milligan of Scio are happy to have Madison back after a three-week vacation.

Madison was discovered hungry and weak by a family hiking in the Cascadia area. At the same time, the Linn County sheriff’s office got a call Saturday around 7:45 pm about a possible lost hiker. When deputies arrived they realized it was family that called who was hiking along South Santiam. They found a tired, hungry, and weak dog that was two miles off the road. Madison was on steep terrain without any real access to get out, so the family had hiked out to call for help then hiked back in the wooded area to stay with the dog.

A deputy recalled seeing a poster for a missing dog that fit the bull mastiff’s description. The flyer said she went missing near Sevenmile Horse Camp 22 days earlier on the Fourth of July.

A search and rescue team tracked them down at about 3 am to make sure they were okay. The team said they would return when it was daylight to get them safely out. Madison ate granola bars that her rescuers fed her. She was even given her own sleeping bag to sleep comfortably until morning when it was safer for the search team to get everyone out of the rough terrain.

At 6:30 am the search team returned. Madison was helped by the team as they carried her up a rock face then down the other side. Madison swam the creek as everyone else waded through water waist- deep. KPTV FOX 12 further adds that all of them took a route using the GPS from the creek up to the Santiam Wagon Road. A large volume of thick brush and an elevation of 200-feet made the hike back a bit of a challenge.

By 9:45 am Sunday the dog Davis and Milligan had spent 22 days missing was back where she belonged.

“Needless to say, they were relieved to have her back,” the Linn County Sheriff’s Office says.

Davis and Milligan tell Fox 12 Monday night that Madison is eating, sleeping and doing well.

It’s estimated by Madison’s owners that she lost about 30 pounds while she was out in the wilderness for three weeks.

[Photo Credit: Rebecca Heuberger via KPTV Fox 12]