A family in Mansfield is thanking neighbors, police, and strangers for their help finding a lost dog. The Pierson family has four dogs, and last week, three of them ran off the property.
Kacey Pierson said the dogs were wearing shock collars, but they also liked to roam.
"It really is like a Homeward Bound movie," Pierson said. "In fact, one of the dog's names is Chance. All of their personalities go right along with Homeward Bound."
She said Chance was rescued from an abusive home.
"He was an amazing blessing to our family, especially to our 13-year-old boy," Pierson said. "He was kind of the leader of the pack. We have coyotes in the woods, and he liked to guard our house. We truly believe Chance saw a coyote and said, 'Let's go guys.'"
She said Remington, their one-year-old golden retriever, and Gunner, Remington's father, would have followed Chance.
Pierson started looking for the dogs as her husband drove their son to school. On the way home, he saw Chance along the side of the road. He saw Remington was dead on the other side of the road.
"I lost it; I become physically ill," Pierson said.
Pierson's husband couldn't reach the dogs, but she said Mansfield Police shut down the road so they could get the dogs' bodies. She then contacted shelters and started driving a golf cart around the area calling out for their third dog.
"The search was on for Gunner at that moment," Pierson said. "I got in the golf cart with my megaphone tool and went around looking for him with my nine-year-old son to no avail. We had neighbors starting to look."
Pierson says the number of neighbors kept growing, and Mansfield Police even posted online urging people to watch for Gunner.
"We know Gunner witnessed this accident. He witnessed his best friend and son, he witnessed this tragedy," Pierson said. "They talk about 'fight or flight mode.' He's probably panicking."
She said the number of helpers kept growing, and they would form search teams each morning. The couple hired a company that can track a dog's scent, and someone who saw the Facebook posts even drove from an hour away with a drone to take video above search areas.
Two people responded to Mansfield PD's post saying they saw a golden retriever run into the woods. Pierson said they set Gunner's kennel out with some food and clothes with her scent.
Saturday morning, people had started gathering to search, but Gunner peaked out of the same area.
Mrs. Pierson put out a blanket and started calling his name and singing.
"I just said, 'At this point, God, we have done everything we possibly can. At this point, we turn our trust to You,'" Mrs. Pierson said. "We trust Your plan. Whatever Your plan is, we know He's working."
About an hour later, she saw Gunner's head appear over the hill, "just like the movie Homeward Bound."
"I softly say, 'Hey, Gunner, you want some turkey? Mommy loves you,'" Mrs. Pierson said. "Sure enough, he came right to me. I stuck a hotdog in his mouth, I put the leash over his neck, and I completely lost it. I had him. I couldn't believe it."
She calls his safe return a miracle. Mrs. Pierson stated how her husband lost 12 pounds and she lost seven pounds because they had trouble sleeping and eating.
"[Gunner] didn't have a scratch on him. He only lost three pounds, by the way," Mrs. Pierson said. "God protected him."
With Gunner's return, Mrs. Pierson says she wants to thank neighbors in Mansfield, shelters, police, and strangers who offered help.
"I'm so very thankful to every single person who responded to the stirring of their hearts," she said. "The legacy Chance and Remington have left, if it even brought one person stronger in their faith, the blessings keep coming. Talk about stories of hope... You could just feel Him at work in this whole story."
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