Owners of dog missing in Colorado wilderness for nearly a month meet the man who found her

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On Friday, the owners of a dog that went missing for nearly a month in the Colorado wilderness met the man who finally found her. 

Her owners say Gunny, an English Bulldog, made it through a rainstorm and cold weather and even survived in an area with bear and mountain lion sightings.

David Ketcham and his wife Diana were out of town when they found out that Gunny had gone missing. They say their son was taking care of her on their rural Cripple Creek home when, during a restroom break, she wandered off. 

"She had one heck of a venture. I just wish she could talk and tell us what she did and where she went," Ketcham said. "Kind of surreal, because we kind of lost hope after 20 days, and the snowstorms and the rainstorms and the animals."

Gunny went on survival mode for 29 days. Her story is incredible, especially since she was recovering from her surgery. 

Jason Marsteiner, the owner of The Survival University, told KRDO13 that his students were having dinner when Gunny came to their campground. Marsteiner said Gunny is lucky to be alive. 

"Last week, we saw a mountain lion. There was patrolling the area. We hear coyotes every night. There's bears, there's bobcats. So there's a lot of predators that roam that area. And, you know, a little bulldog roaming around is just easy, easy prey for those kind of animals," said Marsteiner.

The Ketcham's said their dog gets cold when it's below 70 degrees, that's one of the reasons why they were extremely worried for her. Just days after her disappearance, Southern Colorado was hit with a major snow storm.

"I really didn't think that, she would survive the cold nights and the rainy season that we've been having up here in cripple creek this time of year," said Ketcham.

It's believed the dog traveled anywhere from 2 to 3 miles.

"She traveled enough that she wore the pads off the bottom of her feet and we're getting those medicated," said Ketcham.

The family said they will forever be grateful that their dog was found.

As for Marsteiner, he's glad this story had a heartwarming ending. 

"I'm just happy to see her with her family, that she's healthy. She already looks way better than she did when we found her out in the woods," said Marsteiner.

The family was offering a reward for Gunny's return. The Survival University has opted for the money to be donated to the Teller County Regional Animal Shelter.

 

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