Happy ending for Great Dane struck by two cars, missing for ten days

A family is back together and celebrating Saturday after help from volunteers and an observant homeowner led to their joyful reunion.

Rosco, a five-year-old sandy blond Great Dane cross with a distinctive looping tail, had been missing since Dec. 12 after he escaped from a home on Carey Road and was hit by two cars as he ran away.

After 10 days, concern grew that it might be a recovery mission, but a break Saturday had Rosco climbing out of a ravine and into his owner’s arms.

“There was a lot of ugly crying. It was amazing. We are all on cloud nine,” said Barb Mah of ROAM, who helped with the search.

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Deborah Hicks, the mother of Rosco’s owner, was looking after Roscoe at the time of his escape and pleaded with the public for help when he went missing.

Both ROAM and FLED, organizations that help reunite pets with their families, helped to look for the dog.

Saturday, Roam organized a search event with close to 60 volunteers showing up to help, going door-to-door to search and canvass the neighbourhood.

As the search was winding down for the day, ROAM got a call from a woman who came home to find one of the flyers at her door. She looked in her backyard and beyond into a ravine that drops down about 30 feet behind her property. There at the bottom of the ravine, was a dog.

Upon hearing the news, Mah immediately went and picked up Rosco’s owners from the search party meeting spot nearby and took them to the address.

Rosco’s owner fought her way through brambles to access the ravine, softly calling Rosco’s name. Her dog raised his head, stood up, and walked straight to her, looking thinner and scraped up, but with his tail still wagging.

The tears flowed.

Rosco was immediately taken to the vet –walking in on his own accord – and will remain there overnight for observation.

“For the kindness of concerned individuals, we came together and he is safe. We could not be happier,” said Hicks.

“The level of volunteerism was unbelievable,” said Mah. “For four hours in not great weather two days before Christmas. It was phenomenal.”