LOST, FOUND, HOMEWARD BOUND
Reader's Digest US|March/April 2024
A collection of heart-thumping, tail-wagging, zoomies-inducing pet reunion tales
Cathy Free, Bill Hangley Jr, Justin Jouvenal, Dana Hedgpeth
LOST, FOUND, HOMEWARD BOUND

Riley's Mountain Rescue

A hiker saves a lost dog-and a widower from added grief

ZACH HACKETT WAS 12,000 feet up a Colorado mountain last May when he thought he heard a faint yip. As he walked through a clearing, Hackett, 33, found the source: a black and white Shetland sheepdog, shivering behind fallen pine trees.

"I was a little startled, because dogs shouldn't be up there so high," says Hackett, who had been hiking all day in Breckenridge.

"Hey, buddy," he called out. "You want a cookie? Can you come with me?"

The dog was too weak to move. Spring temperatures dipped below freezing at night, and the dog looked near death.

"I believe what I'd heard was his last cry for help, and that if I hadn't come along, he would have died there," Hackett says.

Five weeks earlier, Mike Krugman, 74, had let his dog Riley out for a predinner walk on his nearby 36-acre property.

"I got his kibble ready, and when he didn't come back, I didn't worry at first," Krugman says.

When Krugman went to the barn and couldn't find his dog, he became concerned and rode around the property on his all-terrain vehicle.

"I thought, Maybe Riley has gone looking for Pam," says Krugman.

His wife, Pam Krugman, had died of a heart condition months earlier.

"When Pam passed away, he hid behind the bed for several days," Krugman says. "You could tell he really missed her."

The next morning, Krugman looked for the sheltie's tracks in the snow and asked a local animal shelter to help search. A volunteer posted "missing" posters and scoured the area for Riley. But no one found him. Weeks passed, but Krugman couldn't give up hope.

"I left his food bowl out for him," Krugman says. He even left out his wife's housecoat, thinking her scent might bring Riley back.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March/April 2024 من Reader's Digest US.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March/April 2024 من Reader's Digest US.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من READER'S DIGEST US مشاهدة الكل
Cookies for Forgiveness
Reader's Digest US

Cookies for Forgiveness

My blowup was half-baked. The apology wasn't

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Puff the Magic Pastry
Reader's Digest US

Puff the Magic Pastry

It always rises to the occasion

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
New Year's Traditions Around the World
Reader's Digest US

New Year's Traditions Around the World

1 MOST OF US spend the final seconds of each calendar year watching a nearly 12,000-pound geodesic sphere descend over Times Square in New York City.

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Mom's Wall-Sign Wisdom
Reader's Digest US

Mom's Wall-Sign Wisdom

She never met a plaque or bumper sticker she didn't quote

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Protect Your 'Holiday Heart'
Reader's Digest US

Protect Your 'Holiday Heart'

This joyful time of year can also be dangerously stressful

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Heroes of the Holidays
Reader's Digest US

Heroes of the Holidays

It's not just Santa Claus bringing the holiday magic this season. As you'll see, he's got elves all over.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
The Man Who Looks After His Wife's Ex
Reader's Digest US

The Man Who Looks After His Wife's Ex

For him and his bride, \"in sickness and in health\" meant something really special

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
How Risky Are Those Holiday Cocktails, Really?
Reader's Digest US

How Risky Are Those Holiday Cocktails, Really?

The latest recommendations about drinking and your health

time-read
7 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
HOW ONE KENTUCKY TOWN SAVED ITSELF
Reader's Digest US

HOW ONE KENTUCKY TOWN SAVED ITSELF

Downtown Hazard had lost its small-town mojo to drugs. Former addicts are helping to bring it back.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Dream It, Do It, Done!
Reader's Digest US

Dream It, Do It, Done!

Your bucket-list goals, accomplished

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025