Lost basset hound found alive after surviving a week in winter weather

BEAUMONT, Alberta (CTV) - When a dog goes missing for a week in the Canadian winter, it’s normal to fear the worst, but Gus the basset hound proved he’s got the call of the wild in him.

Fifteen-month-old Gus followed his nose into the bitter cold, escaping through the front gates of his home in Beaumont, Alberta.

“My heart just basically sank and I’m like, ‘Oh my god,’” Gus’ owner, Teresa Nisperos, said. “The immediate thought was, ‘Is he going to get hit? Is he going to get stolen? What about the bitter cold?’”

Nisperos’ adrenaline kicked in and she went after her basset hound.

“I started chasing after him, but then when I reached to the end, it was so cold,” Nisperos remembered. “I came back running realizing I was barefoot.”

After a 12-hour search came up empty, Nisperos turned to social media for help.

Tahza Moniz lives five doors down and answered the call, communicating with neighbors after she spotted Gus on the loose.

“We just put a big plea out. It got on to all the appropriate pages and we just had an army of people show up,” Moniz said.

There were other sightings, but it took a week before Gus was spotted by another neighbor in a rural area nearby.

Nisperos rushed to the scene and hoped she could get her hands on the hound.

“‘Pooh bear, it’s mama. Gus, Gus, it’s Pooh bear, it’s mama.’ Then he looked at me with much confusion at first, but then I saw the look in his eyes where he’s kind,” Nisperos said. “He felt home.”

“It was definitely hard because it came to a point where the survival, it just all hope was gone. You know, realistically, it was just too cold outside,” Moniz said.

Nisperos is grateful for her neighbors who she now calls friends.

“Having everyone around me, around and behind us, and finding you guys felt like we have in our family from back home here in Canada with us,” Nisperos said.

A vet check revealed some lesions on Gus’ nose.

Nisperos said the vet was amazed at how well he was doing, considering how long he spent in the cold.

He was also down 16 pounds but is already working to gain that back.

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