Unless you have ever lost a beloved pet of your own, it’s difficult to imagine what this family went through when their dog Rylee became lost. This particular lost dog situation isn’t typical. Edward and Elizabeth Casas were boating on Lake Michigan when they realized that their 10-month-old Belgian Malinois had disappeared from the deck of their boat. Your first reaction may be to question how the dog’s owners could have possibly allowed this to happen. Why weren’t they keeping an eye on her? It’s a simple answer; the boat was experiencing electrical problems and they were trying to fix the issue. They were on open water, so that must have been very troubling and distracting. They both assumed that Rylee was safe below deck. By the time they realized she was missing from the boat, the dog was nowhere in sight. Edward immediately took to the radio and put in a mayday call for a dog overboard. The local Coast Guard and plenty of good samaritans pitched in to help with the search, but they couldn’t find Rylee. Though her parents refused to give up hope that she was alive, the situation did not look good.
In the meantime, one of the helpful fishermen reached out to his wife. She is part of The Lost Dog Search Team, a local social media outlet that helps to reunite lost pets with their owners. Rylee’s story quickly got out to more than 20,000 people, and then a miracle happened. Rylee was spotted at a campground near the lake. Even after swimming six miles to land, she was absolutely fine. Edward and Elizabeth were more than thrilled to be reunited with their brave girl.
Thanks to the power of social media and a few kind people, as well as a little luck, Rylee made it home safe and sound. Organizations like The Lost Dog Search Team can be found all over social media and they do amazing work of networking and finding lost pets. Thanks to them, there are plenty of happy endings like this one!
