Persistent pup survives 13 days in wilderness after being thrown in car wreck

A persistent puppy survived without food or water, her leash hopelessly tangled in a bush, for 13 days after being thrown from a car wreck that left her stranded.

Bella was her name, and her master, Michael Crocker, had rolled over on highway I-40 near Flagstaff, Arizona, while driving from Alabama to Southern California, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

Crocker had adopted Bella from a shelter and was taking her home to meet the family. He was whisked away to the hospital, and Bella got left behind.

Enter dog whisperer Cheryl Naumann, founder of the Humane Animal Rescue and Trapping Team (HARTT), which captures escaped and lost pets.

Deep dive into a doggie’s thought processes

First Naumann searched where police had said the crash occurred, but she found no evidence of a wrecked car or a dog. That turned out to be the wrong location, the Arizona Daily Star reported in an in-depth, gripping sleuthing tale. It was the tow truck driver who alerted her to the exact spot of the accident, about three quarters of a mile east of where she’d been looking.

It took some ingenuity and a deep dive into a doggie’s thought processes, but the enterprising animal rescuer scoured the roadside, peering under bushes and holding a blanket imbued with Crocker’s scent, to find 4-month-old Bella.

As she scanned the brush, suddenly Naumann heard whimpering. Running toward the sound, she uncovered Bella, her leash wrapped around the bush where she had landed. Experts later credited rain and snow that had fallen in the intervening days had kept Bella alive.

“She was whimpering and looking up at me,” Naumann told the Arizona Daily Star. “Her leash was hopelessly tangled around a bush.”

After four days at the vet, Bella was returned to her own family and is healing nicely, and so is her master.

The Arizona Daily Star chronicled the story at length, complete with a comprehensive photo gallery and Bella’s Facebook page.