PLEASANT VIEW, Utah (ABC 4 News) - A Pleasant View family had given up hope that their dog was alive - after it disappeared from their front yard. Almost a month later, they are reunited with their beloved pet, thanks to an amazing stroke of luck and some good samaritans.
When Bruce and Kathi Engelby returned home from a camping trip on June 27th, their 10-and-a-half year old English Setter Bungee was there to greet them. For a while, Bungee was going about her usual business of hunting for squirrels in the driveway. Then several hours later, the Engelby's discovered she was nowhere to be found. "When she did not come home, that was very unusual for her and we started getting very worried," said Bungee's owner Bruce Engelby.
For days the Engleby's searched for Bungee. They put up flyers, roamed the neighborhood, and searched all the local pounds. Then, days turned into weeks and they figured she had either died or been picked up by someone. "I would wake up at night going did I hear her, is she at the back door," said Bungee's owner Kathi Engelby.
23 days later on July 20th, Jan Braegger and her family were exploring mines in Ridge Canyon - about an hour north of the Engelby's home. About 200 feet into one of the mines, Braegger noticed a vertical shaft. After shining their flash lights the family discovered a dog staring back at them. "They've got their headlamps on at this point and come to a vertical shaft. She (Jan) shines her light down in there and there's Bungee in this hole. They were just dumbfounded," said Bruce Engelby.
Unsure if they could lift the animal out of the hole, Jan Braegger and her family went to get help. Later that day, Jan and members of Weber County Search and Rescue came back to the mine to find Bungee. Bruce is a volunteer member of the search and rescue team, but happened to be out of town during Bungee's rescue.
On the day of the rescue, Kathi Engelby noticed several search and rescue trucks near their driveway. Unaware of who or what was being rescued - she wondered why there were so many cars. "We're sitting out here on the deck wondering who's lost and we were kind of hypothesizing."
As she approached the crowd Kathi Engelby was startled to see her own beloved Bungee standing there. "There's four or five search and rescue guys and they kind of part and there's Bungee. I was in shock. I didn't know what to say," said Kathi Engelby.
A few days later while on his trip, Bruce called to check in with Kathi. That's when she told him that Bungee had been found. "I sat there and bawled. I was ecstatic. I mean it's like somebody that you love is dead and gone and is all of a sudden alive again," said Bruce Engelby.
The Engelby's say they feel so blessed to have Bungee home. They still can't quite believe their luck, but they feel as though their prayers to find her were answered. "For it to happen the way it did, there had to be a higher power," said Kathi Engelby.
Bungee lost 11 pounds while she was trapped in the mine - almost a third of her body weight. She nearly starved to death, but was able to survive on standing water. The Engelby's say she has regained almost all of the weight and is recovering well.
