Canine hero tracks lost dachshund to reunite with owner

A 165-pound, 2-year-old Newfoundland mix named Gram became a hero last week in Whitefish. He was able to follow paw prints that led to a missing, dappled dachshund, named Finley, in the heavily wooded Swift Creek area.

In the early afternoon of Dec. 26, Finley was on a hike, became spooked and ran off into the woods. After looking extensively through the day and the night, searchers found tracks in the morning but had not located the pup. 

Sabrie Foley often turns up to help when a dog is lost, which is a seemingly daily occurrence in the Whitefish area. Foley lost her own three dogs a year ago in a tragic accident after they escaped from her yard, so she knows the trauma of losing a dog and is eager to help those in need. 

“There are so many missing or loose dogs and there’s so much judgment. As a community, we don’t have time for the negativity. It's a tragedy no matter how the dog got lost,” Foley said. “I’ve never done this with my dog before but anytime a dog goes missing, if I'm free, I go help.”   Foley arrived at a service road near the Swift Creek trail the next day around 1 p.m. and together with Gram, found Finley at 2:15 p.m. 

When she arrived, she allowed her Newfoundland mixes, Gram and Maggie, to smell the trail as well as one of Finley’s sweaters. The dogs, though not trained to track, put their noses to the snow and began their search. 

At one point when they were searching on the winding road, Foley thought to leash her dogs so they would not spook the dachshund. Foley’s daughter held the leashes while Foley continued to search alone briefly.  

Maggie stayed behind when Gram was unleashed. He went straight to Foley and resumed following the trail. He followed tiny paw prints in the snow that led to a huge, overturned root ball and, hearing no sounds, Foley began to fear the worst.  

Just then, Foley saw some movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Finley. He barked at her and took off running in the opposite direction. 

“It was such a cool roller coaster of feelings,” Foley said. “Being floored that I found him, from having my heart and gut feeling we would just find his body.” 

While Gram stayed hot on the trail, he didn't chase the little lost dog. He remained close to Foley for the remainder of the pursuit. 

When they found him, Foley was careful not to upset Finley further. She put her coat down so he could get his paws off the cold ground. The small dog waited there, with Gram watching over him from a distance, until his owner arrived and wrapped him safely in her arms. Only then did Gram come over for a friendly sniff hello. 

“It was such a beautiful reunion,” Foley said. 

His owner carried him out of the woods and by the time they reached the main service road, Finley had stopped shivering and was relaxed enough to doze off. Despite a few superficial scrapes, he received a clean bill of health from the veterinarian. 

Gram was treated to a rack of ribs, which he shared with his sister. Foley said her dog is well-known around town and that “Gram has become a warm, fuzzy icon of Whitefish.” 

“I don’t feel like it’s just as easy as taking your dog out and telling him to go find another dog,” Foley said. “It's the dedication and the bond of a working dog that made this successful. 

“Gram is a top-trained medical alert ADA-standard service dog,” Foley added. “He does a lot of different things.” 

Following trails and finding lost people and dogs is not one of the things Gram is trained to do, but Foley said he knew what she was asking him to do that day, in part, because of some training they had done in a hospital setting. 

When Foley’s son was undergoing cancer treatments earlier this year, she would get Gram from the car and ask him to find her son. “Where is he?” she would ask. “Find him.”  

They would then make their way to the oncology office, Gram having sussed out the way, and find the boy. It was a training game that provided comfort for both Foley and Gram at the time, and it turned out to be a valuable tool for this week’s success story. 

“We’re not special for taking action,” Foley added. “It's just what a community should do. The most important part is that Finley is here and safe.” 

    Gram, the Newfoundland mix who helped find a missing dog last week. (Photo provided)