On June 5, Joy and Andrew Wobido, of Highlands Ranch, hiked the McCullough Gulch trail south of Breckenridge with their pups Atlas and Laika, and watched happily as the dogs romped in the snow for the first time in their lives.
“Honestly, it was the best day,” Joy Wobido said.
Then, it wasn’t.
As they walked back down to the trailhead, Atlas was spooked by some other hikers and took off, beginning a month-long emotional roller coaster for the Wobidos. When they couldn’t find Atlas on their own, they called for help.
“We thought they would just give us advice,” said Andrew Wobido.
Founded in 2020 by , Brandon Ciullo and Melissa Davis, the Summit County nonprofit is structured similarly to a traditional mountain search and rescue group, but works specifically to find missing animals.
Its volunteers have searched in some of Summit County’s most severe weather conditions and hazardous mountain terrain — including along Interstate-70 — to get lost animals to safety. To date, the group has found nearly 1,500 missing animals–mostly dogs, but also cats, horses, donkeys, llamas, a parrot, a snake and a turtle. For instance, in July, Summit Lost Pet Rescue helped find Bones, a 7-year-old cat, who jumped out of a truck on I-70 and ended up in the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel.
The Wobidos spent the first night in their car at the trailhead. The next morning, Ciullo met them to explain how the rescue mission worked. Their biggest and most surprising lesson: Atlas would be in survival mode and would not recognize them or respond to their calls. “Sure enough, I saw him twice,” Andrew said. “He ran right by me, going 100 miles per hour.”
The Wobidos took the first week off from work. With the help of 30-plus Summit Lost Pet Rescue volunteers, they hung neon “Lost Dog” signs with a description of Atlas and a number to call to report sightings. They searched each place he was seen.
The calls came in spurts. Atlas was seen running along Highway 9 in Blue River. Then in Frisco, 20 miles north. Every report said Atlas was running. When a day passed with no sightings, Joy and Andrew Wobido’s hopes sank. But then Atlas was seen again – this time, running on trails south of Breckenridge. The next day, across the highway at the ski resort, on Peak 8. Then, Peak 7. Then, back across the highway, north of town.
Greg Shoenfeld, Summit Lost Pet Rescue volunteer, estimates Atlas may have run as many as 300 miles during the time they searched for him. Though it is not uncommon for lost dogs to run, typically, they’ll stay within a smaller radius, he said. “The amount he was running, the distances he was covering–that he was able to maintain that pace for so long—was incredible.”
Joy and Andrew Wobido admit they would have eventually given up on Atlas if it hadn’t been for Summit Lost Pet Rescue. After a week, both had to return to work. They were relieved to know the search for Atlas would continue in their absence. “These people were passionate about finding Atlas, like he was their own dog,” Joy said.
“Thatap a big part of what Summit Lost Pet Rescue is all about: being there for the owners,” said Sam Harris, who began volunteering after the group helped his sister find her lost cat. “If they can’t get out that day, they have a team of 30-40 volunteers that have their back.”
Summer is the busy season. Once the snow melts and the trails open, “itap game on,” Ciullo said. “People visiting, people leaving, pet sitters, a lot of car accidents.”
For Ciullo, director of operations, who works part-time as a server at a local restaurant to supplement his income, and Davis, executive director, that often means long, unpredictable days and 7-day work weeks. Shoenfeld will often volunteer for 20 to 30 hours per week when a rescue mission is in progress. Many of the calls the organization receives are for animals found within a few hours, a day or two.
Summit Lost Pet Rescue uses large cages to lure and trap missing animals and cameras to monitor the traps to ensure no animal that enters — whether wildlife or the intended animal — is in the trap for more than a short time.
Volunteers had set up a trap for Atlas — the bait included a mix of bacon, kibble and peanut butter — in a construction area near the bottom of the Breckenridge gondola, but moved it when a homeowner up the hill reported she had seen Atlas several times. By then, 29 days had passed. Joy and Andrew had been staying in Silverthorne, but Joy returned home to pack for a work trip the following day. Andrew felt numb. Would they ever find Atlas?
Then he got the text: “We got him.”
Andrew jumped in his truck and drove to Breckenridge. They loaded the trap into Shoenfeld’s truck and drove to a volunteer’s house, where they carried the trap into the garage and closed all the doors before letting Atlas out. “He just went into Andy’s arms and bowed his head; he seemed relieved the ordeal was over,” Shoenfeld said. “Everyone in the room started to cry.”
“It was an act of God that Atlas got lost in this county that has this incredible organization,” Joy said. “This may be the best place in the country to lose a dog–despite the large area and forest and mountains,” Andrew Wobido agreed.
