A survival tale that will bring tears to any dog parent. During some of the coldest days of winter, 11-year old Madera, a Labrador Retriever, somehow wandered off from her home in Esther, Fairbanks on Feb 6. and was lost for two weeks in the cold Alaskan woods.
Her owner, Ed Davis, thought the worst for his beloved Madera and tried searching for her tracks, wishing he would at best, find her frozen body.
According to Davis, she usually returned back indoors after relieving herself but on that particular day, temperatures dropped to 40 degrees below zero and, for some reason, she did not return home.
To add to his concern, Madera was also completely blind from an autoimmune disease. While Davis was working on Pump Station 4 of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, his wife was keeping an eye on Madera. However, Madera still wandered off into the woods.
Thinking he had lost her forever, Davis gave up his efforts in trying to look for her tracks in the frigid cold snow, but a miracle happened on Feb. 16. Eight kilometers away from their home, Constantine Khrulev, another Esther resident happened to be riding his bike along a trail with his own dog who was wearing a bell that rang.
Apparently, when Madera heard the bell, she began whining and caught Khrulev's attention. He found her hiding under a tree that was at least a hundred yards away from the trail.
Clearly, the ringing bell on Khrulev's dog saved Madera's life. "She was not going to be found accidentally," Davis said.
Reportedly, Khrulev brought Madera to the home of one of Davis' neighbors before she was finally reunited with her family and back in the warmth of her own bed. Although she lost 14 pounds, Madera was said to be healthy and happy to be with her family.
Although Davis offered Khrulev a $100 reward for reuniting them with Madera, Khrulev told him to donate the reward money to the Fairbanks Animal Shelter Fund. Impressed by the generous gesture, Davis increased his donation to $250 which will go towards helping other animals who are in need of help from the cold Alaskan winters.
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