SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – It’s a story of tragedy and triumph. A family loses a father and a dog but refuses to give up hope on finding their other loved one. Their determination has paid off because after 53 days Dooley the dog is back home in Salt Lake City.
If only dogs could talk, or rather if we could understand them, Dooley might be able to tell us where's he's been and how he's survived in the wilderness for the past 53 days.
"He was a 40 pound Sheltie and now he's a 22 pound Sheltie,” tells Dooley’s owner Barbara Bagley.
Dooley disappeared December 27th when Barbara Bagley, her husband Brad, and Dooley’s canine sister Delany, were in a horrible, roll-over accident on I-80 just outside Battle Mountain, Nevada.
Brad, suffering from stage four colon-rectal cancer, ultimately died of his injuries. Delany was killed on impact. Dooley was no where to be found. Losing two loved ones, Barbara wasn't going to give up on another.
"Something inside me said he's still out there,” explained Barbara. Three weeks ago, she got the call she was waiting for, Dooley had been spotted. Barbara said, "There are just no Shelties out there so it had to be him, it had to be him."
After several attempts and multiple trips back to Battle Mountain it wasn't until last Friday Dooley was caught. “He was really emaciated and in the feral mode,” explained Barbara. “So he was not recognizing me. I was whistling and whistling for him and he wasn’t recognizing me at all.”
It took the help of a local Nevada woman and her horse Bitsey to round him up and another of Barbara’s friends to jump on Dooley, grab him up and throw him inside her jeep. Once captured, he realized he was finally safe. "He hoped up on my lap and fell asleep immediately,” said Barbara.
Now back home Dooley the dog is something of a hero and Barbara thanks her late husband for what she's calling a miracle. Barbara explained, "I just feel like brad protected him for me."
Barbara's focus is now shifting to her own physical and financial recovery. Since the accident, Barbara has had to close her husband's business and file for bankruptcy. If you would like to help you can log on to Dooley's facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Find-Dooley/220740094672572 
