Search for missing pup in Yellowstone is under pressure as winter nears

A small dog that's been on the loose in Yellowstone National Park for a month has been spotted crossing intersections, strolling through employee housing and entering lodges through automatic doors.

Yet Luna, a Jack Russell terrier from California, has eluded capture. And with winter closing in, volunteers in the search for the dog say time is running out.


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Katie Boucher, the volunteer helming the rescue effort and a spokesperson for Luna's family, says the dog has good survival instincts. Boucher said that before Luna was adopted, the 10-year-old dog spent the first year of her life on the streets.

So far, temperatures haven't dropped too low, but that could change in an instant. Boucher is hoping the light dusting of snow in the area is enough to make her want to come home.

 Hopefully she has decided that winter in Yellowstone National Park is not a good vacation,  Boucher said.

An escape into the wilderness

On the day she was lost, Luna's family left her in a cabin, with a do-not-disturb sign, while they ventured out to see the park. In what they believe was an accident, housekeeping opened the room door and let Luna out.

 The staff then proceeded to chase her around that area of the park for over two hours before the owners came back and discovered all the chaos and their dog missing,  Boucher said.

Luna's family searched for their pup, but were told it was likely the terrier either died or was eaten by a coyote, Boucher recounted. Days after leaving Yellowstone, Luna's owners were told she had been spotted, and contacted Boucher, the president of the Norris Ark Training and Recovery Center in Norris, Montana, an area just north of the national park.

 I cannot fathom how I would feel if I had been taking the vacation of a lifetime, and looking for all these memorable experiences in one of the most beautiful places on earth, and lost one of my family members there,  Boucher said.


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