At some point the owners realized the dog was loose and became very worried since the temperature outside was very cold. They probably called a few neighbors and then got flyers printed to place in residents newspaper boxes to let them know the dog was loose. There was a picture of the dog on the flyer.
On Thursday afternoon Mark Schulties was on his way home after being out of town when he drove into his cul de sac and saw people stuffing papers in his newspaper box. Mark said, "I thought it was someone distributing campaign flyers, it's that time of year". Later he went to get the mail and saw the notice about a lost dog.
He maintains a path along the ridge behind the back of his home so he decided to check the area. Being a hunter Mark knows how to track animals and saw signs that deer and turkey had been in the area. He said, "All of a sudden I saw marks in the snow that looked possibly like a track a leash might make if it was being dragged in the snow. No paw prints just disturbed snow. I also saw coyote tracks".
Off in the distance he saw something colored, it was the sweater the dog had been wearing, and was slightly torn apart. Finally he saw the dog with the leash tangled in the brush. The dog was quiet but seemed nervous and shaking. It took Mark a little while to get the tangled leash out of the brush. All the time the dog did not bark or growl. It just sat there scarred and shaking especially after being out during the whole night. Mark picked up the shivering dog and returned it to its now happy owners.
Mark found the dog in the wooded area of his neighbor's yard but behind their garage. The neighbor said he never heard any noise or barking. Mark still wonders, "The coyote tracks seemed fresh and had I not been there at that time what might have happened to the dog?"