A few weeks ago while hiking in Palm Springs I heard about a dog Ellwood who was missing. Ellwood had been hiking with his mom (off leash) and was at the top of a mountain when 3 other off leash dogs attacked him. In a desperate attempt to save Ellwood his Mom told him to “RUN!”. Well run is what Ellwood did…but sadly he ran too far and was lost. People looked everywhere on the mountain for hours but could not find Ellwood. As it started getting dark everyone was even more concerned. Ellwood was a little dog about 15 pounds and certainly would be in danger of being eaten by coyotes plus it was 100 degrees and the mountain has lots of rattle snakes. Ellwood’s Mom took pieces of her clothing and scattered them down the mountain in an attempt to get him to get off the mountain. She also put water bowls and his beds on the bottom. By the next day most people were losing hope. It was very hot and a small dog alone in a canyon had very little hope of surviving. Ellwood’s mom did not give up…she continued to post signs, post on facebook groups, and was out looking day and night. After TWO nights there was a reported sighting at a golf course (that was located down the 8,000 foot elevation mountain where he was lost). Yes, it was possible it was him but could he have survived and gotten down the mountain, across the busy road and into the golf course? When I heard there was a sighting I ran out again to help look. I had been losing sleep worrying about this little guy and could not stop thinking about the danger he as in. When I got to the golf course I walked and looked in every bush and ditch I could find. I started asking each employee if they had seen him. Several said they had seen him about 6 hours earlier running around scared. I finally met someone who gave me more details and showed me the last place he had seen him. I had a VERY strong feeling that he was hiding in the bushes close to where he was last seen. It was very hot and there were people on the golf course so I thought he would probably just hunker down until it was cooler. I called his mom and asked her to meet me. I told her I had a feeling he was in these bushes and if he was I did not want him to get scared and run. Thankfully she did not think I was crazy and she did meet me. We started waking along all the bushes. The first one we heard a lizard and got excited but quickly realized it was not Ellwood. The second bush she called “Ellwood” and we heard a little jingle…she called him again and sure enough sweet Ellwood came out SOOOO happy to see him Mom. His Mom and I both cried as Ellwood was just so relieved to finally be safe. He had a bad bite mark on his which was probably from the dogs who attacked him and he was limping bit other than that he was great. He could not get in her car fast enough!!! A few lessons learned from Ellwood: 1. NEVER hike with dogs off leash. There are too many things that can go wrong including snakes, coyotes, other dogs, etc. Dogs just want to be with their people…they do not need to be off leash. 2. Never give up if you lose your dog. Ellwood’s mom was determined. She never stopped looking and hanging signs. She also had lots of other people helping. 3. Follow your instincts. This has helped me so many times and this time it helped Ellwood. I knew when I left my house that I was going to find him and I KNEW after walking the golf course for several house and talking to people that he should be in those bushes. Sure enough…my gut instainct was right and I found Ellwood!