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A small Yorkie rescue dog miraculously survived a two-week long adventure — across terrain with rattlesnakes, coyotes, and mountain lions — after getting lost in Southern California.
The 9 pound Yorkie mix — named Burt — was lost for 14 days in the wilderness near Thousand Oaks, crossing a major freeway and covering nearly a dozen miles in the area before he was caught, the founder of Shelter Hope in Thousand Oaks, Kim Sill, said in a post on Facebook.
Burt was originally rescued from the orchards of Bakersfield and brought to the shelter for a chance at a second life and to find his forever home.
However, during transport to a foster-to-adopt home, “Burt became frightened while being loaded into a car and bolted with his harness and leash still attached,” Sill wrote.
“By the time Dog Days Search & Rescue was contacted more than 24 hours later, he had already vanished.”
Volunteers and pet lovers scoured the area for days looking for him, posting flyers, setting traps, and following every lead as sightings came in.
At one point, Sill said they feared he had been hit by a bus.
“After being chased near a shopping center, Burt ran onto the 101 Freeway during rush hour, crossing eight lanes of traffic before disappearing,” she wrote.
“Reports claimed he had been hit by a bus, while others believed they saw him escape.”
All along the way, pet lovers documented the tiny pup’s adventure, sharing news when he was spotted. Videos also kept track of whereabouts, including when they did not see him for a stretch of six days without a single sighting, fearing the worst.
Burt was finally spotted by a woman caring for her horses who was able to give him water. But when she went to pick him up, he slipped out of her grip and vanished once again.
Burt not only managed to survive the wilds and freeways — but also narrowly escaped being a snack for a couple of coyotes — by hiding under a car before racing off toward a golf course.
There was even a close call with a mountain lion captured on video, per KTLA.
Dog Days Search and Rescue, who helped set up cages with water and cameras to aid in the hunt for Burt, finally got the break pet lovers were hoping for on the 14th night, when two little green glowing eyes could be seen inside one of the traps.
Sill said the miracle they needed had come through and Burt was finally safe.
The pup’s survival is made even more incredible by all he had to endure, given the recent uptick in rattlesnake activity in the state this year.
Video captured two rattlesnakes battling it out in some sort of showdown on Monday in the same area where Burt was lost.
The incredible moment showed two venomous reptiles entwined on the asphalt near a storm drain in Thousand Oaks, rearing up and twisting around each other.
English (US)