Set against the magnificent backdrop of the Yellowstone National Park wilderness, "Bring Jade Home" is a gripping true tale of loss, the bond between people and animals, and the power of redeeming love. David Sowers and Laura Gillice are seriously injured in a head-on collision while vacationing in the Park with their dogs. When they are ambulanced away, David’s fifteen-month-old Australian shepherd, Jade, bolts into the over two-million-acre wilderness and disappears. The young dog faces the threats of starvation, predators, and the hostile landscape of Yellowstone itself. The day after the wreck, critically injured David leaves the Trauma Center in a desperate effort to find his beloved dog. Eventually an enormous search effort is launched, spearheaded by Park employee Kat Brekken and fueled by social media. Previously, the longest a dog was lost and found alive in Yellowstone was two weeks. As each passing day breaks that record, Jade is occasionally spotted. Against all the odds, the young Aussie is alive. Bring Jade Home is a heartwarming tale of a dog whose trials bring out the generosity of spirit and the best in people.
Caffrey (Just Imagine: A New Life On An Old Boat, 2008) recounts the story of the heartwarming rescue effort undertaken to save one feisty, independent, and traumatized puppy in Yellowstone National Park.
David Sowers and his new girlfriend, Laura Gillice, both from Denver, were in Yellowstone with their young Australian shepherds (Aussies), a break intended to give the dogs a chance to bond and Laura and David an opportunity to see whether their own relationship had potential. Their car was struck head-on by a pickup truck. After rescuers sent David and Laura to the hospital, park rangers set about removing their dogs from the back of the SUV. They leashed 10-month-old Laila and brought her out of her crate, but when they went for Jade, her plastic crate fell apart, and Jade made a high-spirited run into the woods. The next day, David (with several broken fingers, a shattered kneecap, and a few cracked ribs) and Laura returned to the accident scene, looking for Jade. So began a search that would last 44 days and enlist the support of hundreds of park workers and volunteers. The previous record for survival of a lost domestic dog in Yellowstone was two weeks. Drawing on personal interviews, Caffrey captures the torment of Jade’s family each time the pup is sighted, only to disappear once again. Her secondary-source research adds a wealth of information about Yellowstone and the challenges posed by the intimidating wildlife that call the park home—wolf packs, grizzly bears, coyotes, and bison. Detours into the back stories of Laura, David, and Kat Brekken (a park reservationist who worked tirelessly to keep the search active) add poignancy, dimension, and context to an already remarkable tale. Straightforward, unadorned prose is engrossing enough to keep readers turning the pages.
Not just for dog lovers; a passionate reminder of the wonders of Yellowstone and its inhabitants at a time when our national parks are being threatened.
Gift shops in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks will be carrying Bring Jade Home: A True Story of a Dog Lost in Yelllowstone.
