A Summit County dog was found after being on the run for 11 days in the White River National Forest
Eiliana Wright/Summit Daily News
Mary Frances Weir said two things were integral in the search for her missing dog, Rosie — God and the Summit County community.
During the 11 days that Rosie, a pit bull-boxer mix, went missing, the Summit County community came together to try to find her.
Weir lives near Hoosier pass in Summit County with four dogs and her daughter, Sophie Hansen. Although Rosie is the youngest of the four, Weir calls her “the mom” and Hansen calls her the “nurse.” Weir said Rosie regularly wakes the dogs up with kisses, gets everyone out the door to the bathroom and comforts the other dogs when they are sad.
“I think that’s why it was so hard to have her missing,” Hansen added. “Because the entire pack of dogs were kind of out of sorts.”
-
Named in order are Mary Frances Weir’s four dogs: four-year-old Ginger on the left, eight-year-old Gus, seven-year-old Norman, and finally, three-year-old Rosie on the right. Ginger followed Rosie when she ran away on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. Ginger was found that day, but Rosie would go missing for 11 days. She was found on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022.
Mary Frances Weir/Courtesy photo
-
Mary Frances Weir says Ginger and Rosie are the best of friends. Pictured are Ginger on the left and Rosie on the right, cuddling together in one dog bed. Ginger followed Rosie when she ran away on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. Ginger was found that day, but Rosie went missing for 11 days. She was found on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022.
Mary Frances Weir/Courtesy photo
-
Mary Frances Weir says Ginger and Rosie are the best of friends. Ginger is pictured laying on top of Rosie. Ginger followed Rosie when she ran away on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. Ginger was found that day, but Rosie would go missing for 11 days. She was found on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022.
Mary Frances Weir/Courtesy photo
Not only were the dogs unsettled, but Weir was inconsolable. “I cried every day all day,” she said. “I just thought … How will we ever find her?”
Rosie ran away on Aug. 11, with her “shadow,” Ginger. That morning, a potential dog sitter had come over to get acquainted with Weir and her pack of dogs. During the visit, Rosie slipped out of the front door and Ginger followed.
At first, Weir didn’t worry. Rosie and Ginger tried to run away twice before, and both times, they had returned within the hour. So after three hours, Weir knew she had to take action.
On the afternoon of Aug. 11, she posted about the missing dogs on the Facebook group, One Man’s Junk. The group has almost 50,000 members and serves as a public forum for any and all things related to Summit County.
Not long after, she received a call from a stranger claiming an AirBnB visitor in Breckenridge had found what looked to be Ginger.
Sure enough, a man and his family from Vermont had found Ginger and caught her before she ran away — but they weren’t fast enough for Rosie, who ran north into the White River National Forest.
“That started the absolute — I don’t even know how to say — nightmare,” Weir said. “I’ve never felt so much stress.”
The next day, she made 250 flyers and spread them all over Summit County. In addition, with the help of Summit Lost Pet Rescue, 27 neon signs were posted in Breckenridge and Blue River.
Mary Francis Weir/Courtesy Photo
Each day that passed, Weir became more desperate. She continued to post daily updates on One Man’s Junk hoping anything would help.
Weir was shocked at how many people reached out with prayers or let her know that they would keep an eye out for Rosie while on their hikes.
By the eighth day, things looked dire. Brandon Ciullo from Summit Lost Pet Rescue told Weir at one point that within three to five days, animals are so hungry they typically resurface.
After phoning a friend and researching how to find lost pets, Weir got connected with Blue River resident Keith Brenenstuhl, the man who eventually helped her find Rosie.
Weir remembers when she first met Keith, his wife Sandy Brenestuhl said the minute he saw the missing dog sign at the entrance of their neighborhood he began looking for Rosie and praying for Weir.
Three days later, on day 11 of Rosie’s disappearance, Keith agreed to help Weir search. They met up to search in the woods behind the AirBnB where Rosie was last seen.
Five to 10 minutes later, Weir heard Keith scream her name. But Weir couldn’t see where he was. Her eyes teared up. “He goes, ‘Come down the hill!’” she said later.
She found Keith looking up the side of a “massive” scree-field full of rocks but she still couldn’t see Rosie.
“I yelled out her nickname, Popper … and this little, bony, filthy body stands up and all I saw were her eyes,” Weir said, choking up.
-
Rosie, a dog that was lost for 11 days, is pictured on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022 in the White River National Forest during her rescue.
Mary Frances Weir/Courtesy photo
-
Keith Brenenstuhl, one of the key components to finding Rosie, a dog that was lost in Summit County for 11 days, is pictured on the day of her rescue uniting with her on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022.
Mary Frances Weir/Courtesy Photo
-
Sophie Hanson, Mary Frances Weir’s daughter, scrubs during one of Rosie’s many baths she was given after returning home. Rosie ran away on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, and was missing for 11 days. She was found on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022.
Mary Frances Weir/Courtesy photo
Keith and Weir safely rescued Rosie. She had lost 11 pounds in 11 days but showed no other signs of harm.
As for why she didn’t come out after five days, Weir believes Rosie — though hungry and thirsty — had gotten herself into a place so unsafe that she was too terrified to move.
Now, Rosie is safely home, and Weir said there are GPS collars on their way in the mail.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.
Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.
Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.
