Unfortunately, this worst-case scenario happened to Ricardo Rodriguez and his dog, Russ.
In summer 2021, the two went on a camping trip near Lake Tahoe.
The outing was going well until the pup became scared of his surroundings and ran away into the wilderness.
Photo: El Dorado County Animal Services
Russ never came back to their campground, and Rodriguez couldnt find him.
The devastating circumstances got even worse in the weeks and months following Russ' disappearance.
The area around Lake Tahoe faced natural disasters along with intense inclement weather.
For the Lake Tahoe area, that meant almost two feet of snow.
With the passing months and extreme weather conditions, Rodriguez was sure that hed never see Russ again.
She sent two volunteers, Leona Allen and Elsa Gaule, to look for Russ.
I thought it was him, but he wasn’t moving,Allen explained.
But then, Russ showed signs of life; he lifted his head and opened his eyes.
She felt absolute joy upon realizing he was alive.
The entire mission took hours.
Then came time to get in touch with Russ human.
Luckily, that part was easythe pup had a microchip.
Animal service officers contacted Rodriguez to tell him Russ had been found, and he was ecstatic.
I thought it was a work call and I answered it … like How can I help you?'
And they were like, We found your dog in the middle of the snow,‘he recalled.
I’m like, In the snow?
Rodriguez could hardly believe that Russ had been found until he was reunited with his amazing furry friend.
This guy is something else right here.
Hes been through it all.
But miraculously, Russ was rescued from a snowy mountain four months later.
