Minnie Pearl, the dog, was missing more than 200 days. She’s now back with NC family
Minnie Pearl’s family never gave up hope during the seven months she was missing.
The 2-year-old Shih-Tzu — named after the country comedian — was nowhere to be found after she got out through a hole in the fence at a Wake Forest, North Carolina, home in October, the dog’s owner Bethany Tyree told McClatchy News on Thursday.
So Minnie Pearl’s family “sprang into action.” They put up signs in Wake County and posted “all over” Facebook.
But she was nowhere to be found.
Tyree said they later had a dog tracker help search for Minnie Pearl.
Balynda Brown, who tracked Minnie Pearl with her dog Bravo, said at first she had the family do a lot of outdoor grilling to try and lure her back, and had them walk around the area to try and guide her home with their scent.
Minnie Pearl, however, still didn’t turn up. So Brown took Bravo out to look for her.
But Bravo lost her scent after less than a mile, Brown told McClatchy — meaning someone likely picked her up.
Tyree said the family “never really lost hope” that they would find Minnie Pearl and that they would joke that she was probably out there “living her best life” and eating the food she wasn’t allowed to have at home.
“We just didn’t know if we would ever see her again,” Tyree said.
But Thursday morning, Tyree got a phone call.
Minnie Pearl had been found — more than 200 days later and nearly two hours away.
Sonja Powell told McClatchy she was driving her son to church on a four-lane road when she spotted the little dog in the middle of traffic.
She said she’s a dog person and that it was in her nature to stop and help Minnie Pearl, who Powell said had matted fur and in bad shape. So she took her back to her house where she gave her food and water. The next day, she took Minnie Pearl to the vet, where they found out she was micro-chipped and had an owner.
Soon after, Powell said she got a call from Tyree who was crying, saying “oh my gosh you found my dog.”
The two met halfway to reunite Minnie Pearl with her owners on Thursday, and Powell said Minnie Pearl was licking her family and wagging her tail.
“You could definitely tell she knew who they were,” Powell said.
Powell also said Minnie Pearl loves green beans and that she was “tearing up” the ones her family brought her when they picked up her.
“I’ve never seen a dog eat green beans,” she said.
Tyree said Minnie Pearl is in “really rough shape” but that she thinks she’ll be OK.
She said she was shaking and in “total and utter shock” that the dog was found, according to a Facebook post on Lost & Found Pets of the Triangle, which helps “reunite pets with their people.”
“It’s surreal,” she said of Minnie Pearl being found.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Minnie Pearl, the dog, was missing more than 200 days. She’s now back with NC family."
