Yellowstone National Park South Entrance, Yellowstone visitation

Man Searching for Lost Dog After Yellowstone Car Crash

After a serious car crash in Yellowstone National Park, a Denver area man is bent on finding a lost dog within the Park.

Thursday, July 23, David Sowers was injured after another car collided with his SUV outside Canyon Village. The other driver was a 22-year-old who apparently fell asleep behind the wheel and drifted left.

Sowers sustained multiple injuries, including a shattered knee as well as two ribs and bones in his arm and wrist. He was quickly airlifted to Bozeman Deaconness Hospital for treatment, and returned to Denver afterward for knee surgery.

Sowers’ girlfriend, who was in the car with him, sustained minor injuries.

Although Sowers is expected to make a full recovery, he has disobeyed doctor’s orders by repeatedly returning to the Park in search of something special to him: his dog.

Sowers and his girlfriend were traveling with a 14-month-old Australian shepherd named Jade, described as having black and white fur with blue eyes. The dog, frightened by the crash, scampered off after rangers opened the back seat door. Its kennel was busted to pieces.

From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle:

Angie, Sowers’ daughter, posted fliers throughout the park — and they’ve been working. Calls have trickled in as people in the area see Jade. As recently as Tuesday, Aug. 11, Jade was apparently alive and well and regularly visiting a construction site not far from the accident.

The couple have made three trips back to the area of the accident and nearby Canyon Village after sightings of Jade, most recently from last Thursday to Sunday, but have so far been unable to find her.

“Every time we go up there, it’s nothing,” Sowers said.

Since the accident, Sowers’ life has been a whirlwind of doctors, hospitals and trips to search for Jade.

“This whole thing has put my whole life on hold,” he said. “This whole experience has been a nightmare.”

Every time Sowers and his girlfriend return they leave food behind, hoping Jade will get to it before any other park animals.

Despite the recent sightings, Sowers is feeling so drained from the experience he is not planning to return again.

“When I’m looking for her, I’m crying and bawling … I’m not sure I can go up there again,” he said.

Yellowstone Park ranger Dave Page is cautiously optimistic they’ll find the dog, based on recent sightings, but acknowledges that Yellowstone National Park is a vast wilderness, which greatly complicates the search for Jade.

About Sean Reichard

Sean Reichard is the editor of Yellowstone Insider and author of Yellowstone Insider For Families 2017.

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