Lost dog reunited with family after 4 years in N.C. wilderness

MANTEO, N.C.

Merri Jo Alford knew what she was looking for.

Hidden somewhere at the Outer Banks SPCA among stacks of paperwork buried in long-forgotten cardboard boxes were a few pieces of paper stapled together. On them, Alford knew, would be the names and phone number of a New Bern, N.C., couple with whom she'd spoken so many years ago.

But how much time had passed? Had it been two years, Alford wondered, or three? Could it really have been four years since Greg and Leigh Wilkinson desperately filed a lost-dog report?

Alford knew one thing for sure: The skinny dog with matted fur that she had rescued near Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge was the pooch the Wilkinsons had lost on a canoeing trip years ago.

She remembered the distinctive-looking dog from the flyers the Wilkinsons posted. She remembered their persistence in looking for her.

Finally, on Wednesday, Alford - an animal-control officer who goes by the nickname "Josie" - found the report.

It was dated Nov. 19, 2006. Reality set in for Alford and her colleagues.

Four winters and three summers Teddy Bear survived in a wilderness heavily populated with bears, alligators and wolves. Her owners can only speculate as to how she did it.

On the day Teddy Bear went missing, the Wilkinsons had been canoeing on a creek near the wildlife refuge. They were preparing to head home - Teddy Bear was already in the car - when the dog jumped out an open window and ran into the woods.

She'd done this before, but she always came back. After 20 minutes, the Wilkinsons began to worry.

They searched for eight hours but never found any sign of Teddy Bear. Greg Wilkinson remembered calling for Teddy as he trudged knee-deep through the swamp.

On the spot where they last saw their dog, the Wilkinsons left an open can of sausages. They found a hotel for the night and were back the next day at first light.

Again, they searched. They posted flyers and talked to anyone who would listen. They filed a lost-dog report with the local SPCA. They placed an ad in the local newspaper. With permission, the Wilkinsons searched the refuge after dark.

Some tips came in, but it was never Teddy Bear. The Wilkinsons worried that their shy dog might never approach a stranger and, therefore, might never be found.

In the end, they were right. Teddy Bear never did approach a stranger, even for a few locals who had been leaving food and water outside for her for years. She owes her homecoming to Alford, who set a humane-cage trap for the dog after one local reported seeing a stray dog in the area. Teddy Bear was found in a community called East Lake, not far from where she went missing.

Teddy Bear, an Irish wolfhound mix, now sat waiting in an SPCA kennel. Within minutes, Alford was calling the Wilkinsons' number. She got their answering machine, left a message.

Leigh Wilkinson went home that day for lunch. Two messages were waiting. As she listened to the second one, time stood still.

"I just stood there, and I played it again," Wilkinson, 50, said. "And then I started crying."

She called Alford. Then she called her husband to tell him the news.

Greg Wilkinson braced his wife for disappointment. So many times before, the Wilkinsons had traveled back to the Outer Banks to search for Teddy Bear or anyone who might have seen her.

In response to a tip, they once traveled to Plymouth, N.C., on the outside chance that Teddy Bear had traveled U.S. 64 and crossed the Alligator River bridge.

"You never give up faith. You never give up hope. But you get discouraged," Greg Wilkinson, 61, said.

Staff at the SPCA snapped a few pictures of the dog in the kennel and e-mailed them to the Wilkinsons.

When they saw the photos, all doubt disappeared.

She was shaggier and skinnier, but it was Teddy Bear in those photos.

The Wilkinsons left immediately. On their three-hour trip to the SPCA, excitement gave way to anxiety.

Would Teddy Bear recognize them? Would she be healthy? Had she been transformed into a wild animal?

Would she be angry?

The chances of finding a dog after four years is "incredibly rare," said SPCA International spokeswoman Stephanie Scott.

"I personally cannot think of a story like this," Scott said.

At the Outer Banks SPCA, lost-dog reports are an endless challenge for staff. Shelter Director Rich Crino said the shelter files an average of 100 lost-dog reports each year.

Many dogs are found within hours. But as time passes, so do the odds of ever finding a lost animal, Crino said. Four years is far more than an exception to the rule.

"I've never even heard of anything like that before," Crino said.

"I really felt like she was out there somewhere, but I wasn't really sure that we'd ever get her," Leigh Wilkinson said.

Teddy Bear perked up when the Wilkinsons walked through the door of the shelter. A shy dog by nature, Teddy had hardly interacted with any SPCA staff since arriving 13 days before.

"She came right up to us. She knew us. She started sniffing around our faces. She let us rub on her," Leigh Wilkinson said.

The Wilkinsons scooped Teddy Bear up and drove back to New Bern. For the first time in almost four years, Teddy Bear jumped up onto the couch and rested in what had always been her favorite spot. She was home.

Teddy Bear, now 6 years old, is on antibiotics for skin problems and will begin heartworm treatment soon. Otherwise, she's in surprisingly good shape.

"She is like the same gentle, sweet, loving Teddy," Leigh Wilkinson said.

The Wilkinsons said they plan to purchase a tracking collar for Teddy Bear - just in case. They are also planning more canoe trips.

As for Alford, the Wilkinsons said they can't thank her enough for working so diligently.

Alford calls it "just a good memory day."

And as she speaks, cardboard boxes collect dust behind her.

Erin James, (252) 441-1711, erin.james@pilotonline.com