BUXTON, Maine — A group of dedicated volunteers helped track down a dog that was lost in the woods for nearly three weeks. Last Thursday, a female German shepherd named Bandit was found along the banks of the Saco River in Buxton.
Bandit had escaped from the home of Deb Roy, on Long Plains Road in Buxton. The dog belongs to her daughter and son-in-law who live in North Carolina. Volunteers from a group called Maine Lost Dog Recovery rescued the dog.
“If they had not heard her that day, I’m not sure we would’ve been able to recover her,” said Roy.
Bandit traveled to Maine with her owners when they came up for the holidays. On Dec. 20, she got loose, ran into the road and was clipped by a car. Roy said, “”The woman who hit Bandit had absolutely no chance to stop.”
Bandit ran off injured and scared without a trace. Eventually Maine Lost Dog Recovery got involved. Kirstin Mininni, a Maine Lost Dog Recovery volunteer, told CBS 13, “I was contacted by a family member of Bandit’s to help out with locating where she was.”
Mininni and others put up flyers, left food out in the woods and searched all over Buxton.
19 nights went by with a few sightings, but no luck. Last Thursday one volunteer heard the sound of hope echo through the woods.
“I heard a dog barking and it was like the biggest rush,” said Kathy Winslow.
Winslow discovered Bandit on the side of the Saco River just a few feet away from the water. The location was nearly seven miles away from where she was hit by a car. After a six-hour rescue effort volunteers got their hands on Bandit.
“I teared up,” said Winslow.
Bandit lost nearly half of her weight and has trouble walking, but overall she’s doing OK.
“I don’t think we would’ve had the direction that we did without Maine Lost Dog Recovery,” Roy said. Bandit is currently too weak to travel home to North Carolina, but when she’s ready Roy plans to drive her there on her own. She said, “I don’t want her out of my sight.”
Volunteers said nearly 800 lost dogs are reported to them every year. They claim their recovery rate is approximately 85%. Maine Lost Dog Recovery is attempting to collect donations in order to become an official non-profit organization.