(WWJ) - A three-legged dog who went missing in northern Michigan has been reunited with his family in Ohio after spending almost three weeks lost in the wilderness.
"Gru" disappeared early this month while his family was visiting their farm in Leelanau County. Family members spent days looking for their beloved dog but were unable to find the black labrador-mix before they had to return home to Ohio, more than 500 miles away.
The family hung up missing posters with a photo of Gru's smiling face around the area and enlisted the help of Moore's Lost K9 Search & Recovery.
After being on the run for 17 days, Gru was finally located and trapped on Sunday. He was reunited with his family the next day.
Sue Hollmann Weber, Gru's "mom," called the rescue "absolutely astounding."
"As painful as this ordeal has been, it brought us tighter together as a family, tested and refined our faith and trust, introduced us to so many wonderful people and renewed our belief in the good of humanity," she wrote on Facebook.
Gru has always been a survivor. Shortly before he was adopted by the Weber family three years ago, he was struck by a car. He went through surgeries and was seemingly nursed back to health.
"He didn’t use that left rear leg much, he would walk on it but anything above that he picked it up and carried on," Weber wrote. " We took him to the vet and the leg was solid, didn’t make him yelp, so this was just the way it was going to be."
Two years later, a round of X-rays would reveal that Gru's left leg never completely healed and was still broken from the accident.
"He never showed pain, he never let it get in the way. We never knew," Weber said. "This is a dog with a remarkably big heart. And tough."
His leg was amputated and life continued as normal -- until the trip to the farm this month. After Gru disappeared, his family was heartbroken.
"We combed the woods, drove streets, called him, cried, desperate, well into the night," Weber said. "We learned about lost dog Survival Mode, and knew—heartbreakingly—that he was fighting for his life and would even run from us. And that in a mostly rural area, he could have been ANYWHERE on any given day: barn, garage, shed, abandoned home, porch, under a piece of machinery...anywhere. It was so overwhelming. Felt impossible."
Luckily, the community banded together. Sharp-eyed residents would call searchers anytime Gru was spotted.
"Gru was being seen every few days, was alive, and was VERY fast, absolutely bolting from help," said Weber.
He traveled countless miles throughout three counties before finally ending up in a trap where he calmly laid down and waited to be rescued.