Reunited Dog in Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Status

REUNITED - reunited after 2 days, 11 hours

Date Last Seen

October 31, 2026

Sex

Female

PawBoost ID

73581741

Species

Dog

Artie's Owner Says

Hey everybody! OK, I wanted to give a full account of what happened to reunite with my dog Artie. So I was just walking and frantically hoping pretty much all day each day since I lost her, and I got in contact with The Mean Tracker Lady, Lynn Byrd, who many of you know and tons of you recommended to me, and of whom I cannot say enough positive things! She got me reoriented to creating more of a home base with scents and food, and restricted me to a less than one mile radius of my place. "Don't put your scent where you don't want her to be," she kept telling me. I did what she said, but started just frantically pounding the pavement closer to home, and then just sitting in my car for hours with the doors open to spread even more of my scent. Well Lynn was really sure last night was the night Artie would try to come home. I live on the 4th floor, so I was super paranoid that she would come by but I wouldn't be out there at that moment to see when she came by, and then she'd be gone again. Lynn suggested I keep watch til midnight, then set an alarm for 5:00am and bundle up and go sit in my car as the sun rose, because that's when dogs are the likeliest to be on the move. It felt like we were hoping for a shot-in-the-dark miracle, and I was more than a little skeptical, but you gotta try whatever you can, right? So I sat outside for most of last night watching the parking lot not move with a game on my phone, and finally went to bed around 1:00. I am about the non-morningest person you will ever meet, btw. So my alarm goes off at 5:00, and I drag my sore self out of bed, kinda disbelieving that this could possibly work, and stumbled to the window. I have to open the window to see down the building to where the back stoop is, and the latches of my window make a very particular sound. I looked at the stoop and there was Artie, just standing there, staring right up at me and wagging her tail and I swear she was smiling! I literally rubbed my eyes like I was in a screwball comedy in the 40s, and yelled her name. She wagged harder, so I didn't think she wanted to bolt. I did in fact have the wherewithal to throw pants on (wasted time) but no shirt and then I flew down the stairs. I tried to be sure and calmly open the back door in case she was scared, but she was just there! And she ran right inside and we hugged and she spun and licked for a good five minutes. I couldn't believe how easy it was! And how dead on the money Lynn was! I didn't even have to wait for her to swing by, she was waiting on me! So that's it, Artie drank about an entire bowl of water immediately upon getting home, and just finished up a bowl of food about 10 minutes ago around 9:30. She seems totally fine and totally herself, she didn't even stink or anything! I coincidentally had a vet appointment tomorrow for yearly shots and such, and now they'll be able to check her out and make sure there's nothing I haven't seen that might need attention. So yeah, in the end I found the luck I needed and she made it back home to me! I still keep pinching myself, it's so, so, so what I needed to happen. Now I can actually start to take care of my dumb broken body and actually rest and heal. And I haven't really been able to internalize it, but it's astounding how many people have invested in this search. I feel like the network of friends and well wishers I have is astronomically bigger than I realized, and it's flt out inspiring how many people offered to help search and checked in on me through the whole thing. My heart is really full with how much love was sent our way over the last few days. So thank you all, really, it has all meant more than I can say. And pro tip: if you want engagement action online, you should try telling people you got run over by a car and lost your dog. Cause buddy, that gets people's attention, let me tell you!! I think this is as viral as I've ever gone with anything! Please help spread this message to all the people who posted and shared things about Artie so they can know things worked out in the end, and that I would shake every person's hand individually if I could! Love you all! Thank you so much for your positivity for the last few days!