Jackie the dog was reunited with owner Cody Bostick and his son Easton yesterday afternoon in Lewisville, TX, just north of Dallas. It was an emotional reunion.
Volunteer transporters drove the little dog through five states from Minnesota to Texas. The drivers drove an hour or more each, handing off the dog one to another until Jackie made it to Texas. Jackie even spent a night at Winding River Kennels in Kansas City to break up the trip. Cris Carey of Oklahoma City drove the final leg of the journey to personally deliver the little dog to Cody and Easton Bostick who are staying with family in Texas.
The story of how the little Jack Russell mix was lost and found is both tragic and amazing. On December 20th, Cody and Colby Bostick, their one year old son, Easton and Jackie, the dog, werem on a journey home to Texas for the holidays. The young Clear Lake, Iowa family knew when they set out that the weather was bad. But, Cody and Colby figured the interstate should be clear and they planned to take it slow.
On I-35 between Fort Dodge and Ames they found themselves driving into a blizzard with heavy blowing snow. Traffic was slowed, but suddenly their vehicle was hit from behind by one truck and they spun around, sliding under a tractor trailer.
Whiteout conditions and slick roadways had contributed to a massive 30 car pile-up. Colby who was pregnant with twins was critically injured in the accident and died a short time later. In the chaos after the wreck, Jackie the dog was lost.
Cody Bostick held out hope that his dog would be found. He and his brother called veterinarians and shelters in the area looking for Jackie. Two weeks later, Bostick got a phone call saying someone had found his dog.
A Minnesota man named Roger had been driving I-35 on Christmas Even morning. Just outside of Ames about 4 in the morning he saw Jackie dodging traffic. He picked up the dog and drove her home to his place in Minnesota. The next day he called his friend Mary and she volunteered to care for the dog.
At the time they thought she may have been a dumped dog or a stray- they had no idea that the Bostiks along with hundreds of animal rescuers were searching for her. But, Mary searched Craigslist postings and called vets in the Ames area near where the dog was found. And she placed Craigslist ads.
Then a deluge of responses came. "Could the dog you found be the dog missing from the fatal wreck south of Webster City?", they asked.
Bostick then identified Jackie through a cell phone picture and some unique characteristics that only he would know about. One of them was Jackie's ears where one would stick up and the other flops over.
The organization Bailing Out Benji stepped up and volunteered to help get jackie back to Cody and Easton. Sheri Jackson mapped out a route and put out a call for volunteers to help transport Jackie from Minnesota to Texas. She received close to 70 emails from people all over the country wishing to help.
In the end 12 volunteers, each driving one leg of the trip to move Jackie from Minnesota to Texas.
Bostick is grateful to the volunteers who helped bring his family back together again. And, he is thankful to all who helped get the word out about his lost pet.
He was also grateful that his little dog survived. “It’s just an amazing story of survival in that kind of weather that she’s never been in and it gives me comfort that Colby is looking out for us,” he said.
Hampton Inn and Suites in Lewisville, Texas donated a meeting room where Bostick and Jackie could be reunited. To learn more about Bailing Out Benji Click HERE
