TUCSON, Ariz. -- It's been a rough few days for 3-year-old Scout. The terrier mix is dealing with damaged paws and wounds from cactus spines that were in his body. That's because he was trapped on a cliff along Blackett's Ridge Trail at Sabino Canyon over the weekend.
Scout disappeared on Saturday and crews found him at 9:30 a.m. the next morning. Owner Kristen Reihle and her son Xavier Hardman say that Scout was with a sitter and the sitter let Scout out for a quick second. Then suddenly, the dog was gone. Scout was missing for more than 12 hours.
"I was grateful that he was still alive. I'm just feeling a complete overflow of gratitude for the people who saved my dogs life. We prayed that a nice family would be taking care of him and they were. We're just so happy to get to him to have him again," Reihle said.
Steve West with the Pima County Sheriff's Department Rescue says when they first discovered Scout they were also looking for an owner on the cliff, but only found the dog and conducted the rescue. Sean Fawcett with the Southern Arizona Rescue Association, who was also part of the rescue says he had to approach Scout with caution and was able to get him to a safe place. All of this, taking place just five miles away from the dog sitter's home.
Fawcett also took Scout home for the evening and his wife called the owners to let them know the dog was found.
"We were looking for people and or someone in the area and were surprised to see scout on the rock. He was what we call cliffed out," West said
"Once we got a leash on him and he didn't bite we that's when had him," Fawcett said
Kristen says Scout has some emotional and physical healing to do, but the family is just happy to have their furry friend back home.
"He's gonna be spoiled now he's gonna get a new bed and a blanket. He's a part of our family and we couldn't imagine life with out him," Reihle said.
The family says they were so moved by the rescue efforts, they hope to volunteer with rescue crews in the future.
