A pet parent retelling the “worst moment” of her life left viewers devastated until her nightmare ended three days later.
A deaf dog named Nutmeg managed to escape during a snowstorm in January, and for three days, owner Emily Dougherty spent countless hours out on foot in the snow, hiking through the woods and using the community for help, she told Newsweek via TikTok.
In the TikTok video posted to the account @nutmegthedeafdog, Dougherty explained to viewers the horrible panic she went through as soon as Nutmeg went missing. She worried her dog would not make it as the temperature dipped below freezing.
She took all the right steps one should do when searching for a missing pet—make flyers to post in the community, spread the word on social media, contact animal control, and leave out articles of clothing in trees for the dog to smell. She even contacted thermal drone operators to help with the search.
@nutmegthedeafdog/TikTok
“Unfortunately, the snow made it hard to see anything, and we had to wait until the snow died off to even get the drone up in the air,” she said. “That night, he had the drone up for about an hour and didn’t get any signatures that could be Nutmeg.”
Day two of searching started at 5 a.m., which yielded a glimpse of hope. Her GPS pinged her collar, and animal control helped her get in contact with the property owners to set up a few trail cameras. But, once again, no sightings of Nutmeg. Panic set in.
“We walked in the dark for close to two hours with no significant signs other than some paw prints,” she said. “The problem is in our area, there are so many free-roaming dogs that we could never tell if the paw prints were hers or another dog’s.”
By the evening on the third day, another thermal drone operator came out to help, placing the drone up near the collar’s ping, which finally provided a heat signature. Dougherty said at that point, it was around 10 p.m. and 10 degrees outside, but without easy access, she needed to wait until the next morning.
They hiked and used a leash to rappel down into a creek. After 45 minutes, Dougherty caught a glimpse of her fur baby.
“She was running and jumping over some logs,” she said. “She spotted me, and she was still nervous, you could tell, so I crouched down on the ground and started throwing pieces of hot dog towards her.”
It took about 20 seconds until Nutmeg made the connection and came running toward her. And, despite the freezing temperatures during her three nights alone, Nutmeg stayed dry and warm under her jammies and jacket.
Although Dougherty said she lost a bit of weight and her paws looked torn up. Her harness also rubbed up against her fur from being on too long. With a vet’s clear bill of health, she went home to catch up on much-needed sleep.
TikTokers React
The TikTok video amassed over 309,900 views and 67,900 likes as of Friday, giving viewers hope that other pet parents can find their missing animals.
“That winter coat definitely helped keep her warm and safe. I’m so glad you found your fur baby and that they are safe and healthy after that,” one person wrote.
Another added: “Omg.. it must’ve been horrifying knowing that she can’t hear and all alone out there. I’m glad you found her.”
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