Abandoned Dog Survives 2 Hurricanes and Harsh Mountain Life Before Finally Rescued

Our story begins with a mysterious dog abandoned in the mountains of Puerto Rico, struggling to survive.

Despite all his pain, he showed a strong will to live.

Rescuers spent over a year trying to coax the elusive dog into their care, refusing to give up.

However, the dog seemed as if he’d rather suffer alone in the wild than to take his chances trusting humans.

A Lone Wolf

Louie had been wandering through the mountains of Puerto Rico as a stray for over a year and a half.

No one knew how or when he was abandoned, but one thing was certain: he’d been fighting for his life.

He’d survived and suffered through the harshest conditions, including two record breaking hurricanes.

Everything changed when OBRA, a local rescue organization, took notice of him.

Giselle Colón, founder of OBRA, and her team they quickly began attempts to coax him into their care.

However, Louie had lived a lonely life filled with misfortune.

All he knew was how cruel humans could be. He didn’t trust anyone.

Hardened by his fear of neglect and abandonment, Louie evaded all of Giselle’s attempts at rescuing him.

But Giselle wasn’t ready to give up– she was determined to give Louie the life he’d always deserved.

She was relentless, pursuing Louie’s rescue for over a year.

Then one day, Giselle was successful in achieving what had seemed impossible.

A Dream Dog Come True

Suddenly, the moment they’d all been waiting for had finally arrived.

After over a year of hard work, Giselle managed to bring Louie into her care and out of the wild!

With Louie now out of harm’s way, it was time to focus on his future.

Meanwhile, a woman named Mary Catherine McMurray was on the lookout for her dream dog.

She needed a guard dog for her 42-acre farm in Wisconsin.

She knew the chances of finding such a dog at a rescue was unlikely, but if it was possible, Giselle was the one that could make it happen.

Mary Catherine reached out to OBRA describing her dream dog: a large, older, black german-shepherd type that was territorial and loved the outdoors.

Immediately after sending OBRA the message, Mary Catherine scrolled through Facebook and saw Louie’s story.

“Disregard my last text,” she sent to OBRA, “I want this dog.”

She wasted no time making arrangements for Louie to come to Wisconsin.

“Louie fit the bill, and he was beautiful,” Mary Katherine said.

For the first month, however, he had to remain boarded while Mary Katherine dealt with unexpected health issues.

This proved to be a challenge for a dog that didn’t fully trust people yet.

The Escape Artist

Louie was fully vetted, neutered, and boarded at a Wisconsin rescue while Mary Katherine recovered.

Following his neuter surgery, he was placed in the rescue’s large, fenced-in backyard.

Several rescue dogs had stayed in the yard before, but Louie wasn’t your average dog.

After having lived in the mountains of Puerto Rico, Louie had mastered some expert survival skills.

No one thought what Louie was about to do was even possible.

He dug a hole under the fence while still wearing the cone from his recent surgery and escaped the backyard.

For several days, everyone was on the lookout for Louie, setting out live traps for him with no luck.

“I suggested that, because he was so territorial, they should set a live trap in their own yard,” Mary Katherine said. “Sure enough, there was Louie in the morning, sleeping on their porch.”

Louie is incredibly intelligent, making him the perfect guard dog at Mary Katherine’s Wisconsin farm.

That independence, however, would come with its challenges in the future.

King of the Forest

It took Louie some time before he accepted the company of others.

At first, Mary Catherine wasn’t sure if she could allow him to go leash-less with the rest of her pets at because of his wild tendencies.

Sure enough, he escaped her leash before she was ready to let him go.

Lucky for her, however, Louie had already realized where his home was.

“I was so pleased to see that he stuck around,” she said.

Now, he knows the woods like the back of his paws, and he knows his job is to guard the area.

“People have reported him as far as 4 miles away,” Mary Katherine said, “but he’s always back in time for dinner.”

Even though he had trouble trusting people at first, Louie has settled into farm life beautifully.

He loves Mary Katherine’s other pets, happy to protect his home and family.

Louie is fearless, never ceasing to amaze Mary Katherine with his talents.

“I watched him chase an entire pack of coyotes out of the valley,” Mary Katherine said.

While being intimidating at times is an important part of Louie’s job, he also has a playful side that he’s more comfortable showing as he settles in.

Home Sweet Home

Louie loves to show off his survival skills by running quickly and climbing the big rock formations in the area.

“He’s a total playful spirit,” Mary Katherine said.

Though he didn’t trust anyone at first, he’s grown to love his new home.

“Now, he comes into the house without being led,” she said. “He’s got it made and he knows it.”

Louie now spends his days running around Mary Catherine’s land, having fun with his siblings Bo, Chusa, and Wishbone, guarding them from potential harm.