Buttercup’s Big Escape!

When a recent snow storm passed through Minnesota, Buttercup the Chinese Crested went on a big adventure out into the evening’s blowing snow!

“On December 30, around 7:30 p.m., I got a call [while at work] from my daughter,” said Keri, Buttercup’s owner. “She was hysterical, and I couldn’t understand her. I finally got her to calm down, take a few deep breaths, and [then] I got the news: Buttercup had gotten loose. My daughter had been helping a friend shovel her car out as it had been snowing pretty hard for a few hours and accidentally left the door to our garage, as well as the garage door to the outside, open.”

Keri immediately drove home to help her family search for Buttercup. They searched the neighborhoods on foot and by car, and even posted to social media.

“I started hearing people calling out my dog’s name. It was surreal. My neighbors had bundled up, grabbed their flashlights and started to help find her — I was in awe,” said Keri. “There were so many people commenting on our post, praying for us, and helping us search.”

Hour after hour went by with no Buttercup, and everyone was forced to retreat until daylight, forcing Keri to accept that Buttercup was lost: “I finally bit the bullet and reported her missing to the AKC Reunite website and sobbed my way through the entire process — I was losing hope.”

The next morning, they made and distributed AKC Reunite Lost Pet Alert flyers to every door, mailbox, and sign in sight, optimistic that someone could help them find their dog. Finally, after 26 hours, Keri’s phone rang with good news! Someone had found Buttercup and thanks to the flyers and social media posts, called right away!

“I couldn’t believe it…I was so convinced we had lost her forever” said Keri. “But they’d seen Buttercup shivering in the cold, scared and alone, and got her into their townhouse and kept her warm, and safe…My little family was reunited, and I will never be able to express my gratitude to every single person, AKC Reunite for their unending support, and my neighbors for being neighborly.”