A dog surviving in the wilderness after a dangerous accident has brought relief to her family. LouLou, a four-year-old poodle-husky mix, was found alive in Alaska after an avalanche swept two mountaineers down a mountain ridge on October 10. The dog had been missing after the incident, leading to an extensive search for her, according to PEOPLE.
According to Scripps NewsLouLou was with two experienced mountaineers in Chugach State Park when an avalanche swept the men about 500 feet down a mountain ridge.
Lauren Padawer, one of the hikers’ girlfriends, told PEOPLE that both men survived but suffered serious injuries.
Brian, the boyfriend of LouLou’s owner, Lauren Padawer, broke his jaw and suffered a serious hand injury. His climbing partner suffered three broken ribs and a fractured vertebra. Both men were taken to the hospital, but LouLou could not be found.
Padawer was overseas celebrating her father’s 80th birthday when the incident happened. Despite being thousands of miles away, she began looking for ways to find LouLou.
She contacted four pet rescue groups in Anchorage and the Valley, two hiking groups, an avalanche group, a mountaineering group and a backcountry skiing group. She also sent messages to more than 36 people to seek help.
LouLou was adopted in 2023 after Padawer’s son expressed a wish to have a husky. Padawer said LouLou was full of love, energy and loyalty and was especially comfortable on mountain trails.
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AirTag Helps Search Teams Find Clues
Hope grew when Padawer realised that LouLou was wearing an AirTag. However, the first location estimate was nearly half a mile away from the actual location.
Padawer explained that finding a dog in the rugged Chugach Mountains was difficult because half a mile could mean a different ridge or mountainside. The changing weather also made it harder.
More than 20 people joined the ground search, including a scent dog. Commercial land and sea pilots Amanda Barker and Dave Beckett also helped search for LouLou. They managed to get another location signal before bad weather forced the search to stop for the day.
Although she was more than 5,000 miles (8046 Kilometres) away, Padawer helped identify the possible location by comparing satellite images from Apple with another mapping application.
Dog Found After 50 Hours
After around 50 hours, the search teams found LouLou alive. Padawer was shocked and emotional when she received a photograph of her rescued dog.
She said LouLou appeared to have a broken toe and a broken canine tooth. However, the dog was otherwise back to normal and enjoying resting on the couch and taking naps.
Padawer believes LouLou’s thick coat may have helped her survive the cold conditions. The dog has a soft undercoat and thick, curly outer hair.
Padawer praised Barker and Beckett for their role in finding LouLou. She credited their generosity, skill and determination with turning a desperate search into a happy reunion.
She also shared that LouLou accepted her rescue calmly, adding that even spending 50 hours alone in the Chugach Mountains had not changed the dog’s particular way of meeting new people.
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