Lost little dog appears to be searching for her family as deadly Yellowstone winter looms, locals say

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A Jack Russell terrier missing for a month inside Yellowstone National Park has been spotted crossing street intersections, wandering through employee quarters, and walking into lodges via automatic doors.

Yet 10-year-old Luna, originating from California, has managed to avoid capture. With winter setting in, volunteers involved in the search warn that time to rescue the animal is running out.

Katie Boucher, the volunteer leading the rescue operation, said Luna has strong survival instincts. While her owners have requested anonymity, they informed Boucher that the terrier spent her first year of life surviving on the streets prior to adoption.

Temperatures have not yet dropped low enough to freeze the dog, though conditions could change rapidly. Boucher hopes a light dusting of snow across the area might motivate her to head back.

“Hopefully she has decided that winter in Yellowstone National Park is not a good vacation,” Boucher said.

On the day of her disappearance, Luna’s owners left her in a cabin marked with a do-not-disturb sign while exploring the park. Housekeeping staff accidentally opened the door, allowing the terrier to run out.

“The staff then proceeded to chase her around that area of the park for over two hours before the owners came back and discovered all the chaos and their dog missing,” Boucher said.

Following an initial search, the family was advised that Luna had likely died or been taken by a coyote. Several days after leaving Yellowstone, they learned she had been seen and reached out to Boucher, president of the Norris Ark Training and Recovery Center in Norris, Montana, just north of the park.

“I cannot fathom how I would feel if I had been taking the vacation of a lifetime, and looking for all these memorable experiences in one of the most beautiful places on earth, and lost one of my family members there,” Boucher said.

Boucher has tracked reported sightings and says the dog appears to be retracing the steps her owners took the day before she went missing, entering eateries and lodges they had previously visited.

When residents or tourists shout Luna’s name or run after her, it triggers a fight-or-flight reaction that drives her deeper into the park, according to Boucher. Volunteers have deployed a humane trap using her family’s scent, avoiding food baits that could attract bears or other wild animals.

Upcoming weather conditions could soon limit search efforts and force Boucher out of the park. She is currently staying at a seasonal staff RV park scheduled to close next Monday, after which she will need to locate alternative lodging.

Despite the impending deadline, she remains confident that she is close to reuniting Luna with her owners.

“Her behavior pattern suggests to me that she is looking for her family,” Boucher said.

The effort to recover the small dog has united residents and visitors alike. Marie Jaskula, a local resident who operates one of the park’s general stores, has displayed notices at every park entrance so visitors can keep watch for Luna.

“It’s really hard to stress the importance of do not chase,” said Jaskula. “Everybody sees this little dog buzz across the intersection or maybe around their employee housing, and the first instinct is to call her name and chase her.”

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