A tiny black and brown dachshund from West Vancouver, B.C., is back at home after surviving on his own for almost a month in the wilderness.
Owner Denise Beirnes was walking her beloved pooch, Honey, off-leash on a trail in Capilano Canyon in June when he disappeared.
"I turned around and he was gone," she told CTV News.
Beirnes, an avid dog lover, began a massive campaign to find Honey, including taking out newspaper ads, offering a reward and putting up posters on the North Shore.
She even contacted three dog psychics.
"I gave up hope after a couple weeks," she said. "I just couldn't believe he would come back and I had to find some sort of peace within myself."
But four weeks later, Beirnes received a phone call from a man saying he had found Honey in a ravine in Capilano Canyon.
"I just totally went into shock," she said.
A family brought the 11-year-old dog over to her home and put the dog into his long-lost owner's arms.
"He was just this bag of bones. He was very, very weak," Beirnes said.
She gave the rescuers a $1,000 reward but forgot to ask for their names. Beirnes is hoping they will contact her again so she can share her gratitude.
The little dachshund is slowly recovering from his ordeal, sleeping a little longer than normal and slowly putting on the weight he lost in the wilderness.
"I think he's quieter than usual," Beirnes said.
The dog owner says she's amazed that Honey, who takes medication for heart problems, did so well on his own.
"There's no reason why he should have survived out there."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson
