HUNTSVILLE, Weber County — Three puppies found in the wilderness may not have survived much longer if it wasn’t for determined rescuers.
Kat Perry and Corey Holt were snowmobiling Saturday afternoon in the Ant Flat area east of Pineview Reservoir when they spotted a Great Pyrenees that looked like she had recently given birth and needed help.
“She’s skinny. She’s very skinny. And I knew if she still had puppies alive they wouldn’t make it through the winter,” Perry said.
Perry and Holt went back to the area Sunday, more prepared to bring her in.
But after searching and almost ready to give up for the day, they saw a set of fresh tracks that led them to a sheep carcass where the mother was tending her three pups.
The dog and her three puppies had been living off the carcass.
The couple couldn’t bring the pups back themselves, so they enlisted the help of Weber County Search and Rescue. The team was in the Monte Cristo area prepping for the winter season when the call for help came.
“They hooked on a sleigh and we strapped down the crate and back we went,” Perry said.
Perry and Holt say the puppies are around 7 weeks old and were probably part of a large litter, but are the only ones that survived.
“The puppies would have died. They’d have froze to death where she had them,” Holt said.
Sadly, the puppies’ mom wouldn’t come near the rescue team.
“We hated to leave her, but we tried our best. We did what we could do,” Perry said.
On Monday, Kade Hardman along with his wife and father went back to the area with snowmobiles in an attempt to find the dog again.
They also took tuna, dog treats and ham to try to lure her in.
“We have a whole bunch of different food options,” Hardman said. “We’ve got some ham that we’re actually going to cook on the snowmobile exhaust pipe on the way up there.”
Hardman is a vet technician for the Utah National Guard and loves animals. He said if it was his dog that was missing, he would hope others would come forward to help him find her.
“We’re pretty hopeful that we’re going to be able to find her today,” said Hardman. “Hopefully she’ll let us get close enough to catch her.”
Hardman and his family searched for several hours Monday but couldn’t locate her. However, they were able to track her footprints for a while and believe she made it to the area of Hardware Ranch. They’re hoping someone picks her up soon so she can be reunited with her puppies.