Dog ejected from SUV in Idaho crash found herding sheep 2 days later

via Nexstar Media Wire, The Associated Press

Updated: Jun 10, 2021 / 08:02 PM CDT

Linda Oswald hugs 2-year-old dog Tilly at their home in Hayden, Idaho on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. The dog vanished for two days after being ejected from a vehicle during a car accident and has been found apparently doing the job it was bred to do — herding sheep. Oswald’s family and their dog, Tilly, were driving along Idaho State Highway 41 on Sunday when they crashed into another car, launching the dog through the rear window, The Spokesman-Review reported. (Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review via AP)

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A pet dog who vanished for two days after being ejected from a vehicle during a car accident has been found apparently doing the job it was bred to do — herding sheep.

Linda Oswald’s family and their dog, Tilly, were driving their SUV along Idaho State Highway 41 on Sunday when they crashed into another car, launching the dog through the rear window, The Spokesman-Review reported.

This undated photo provided by Linda Oswald shows Linda Oswald’s family dog, Tilly. The dog who vanished for two days after being ejected from a vehicle during an accident has been found apparently doing the job it was bred to do, herding sheep. Oswald’s family and their dog, Tilly, were driving along Idaho State Highway 41 on Sunday, June 6, 2021, when they crashed into another car, launching the dog through the rear window. The unharmed but stunned dog then ran away. Oswald said the family then wrote a Facebook post that included a picture of the 2-year-old border collie and red heeler mix and more than 3,000 people shared the post. That’s when Tyler, Travis and Zane Potter recognized the dog in the photo as the same dog they saw on their family farm south of Rathdrum on Tuesday. (Linda Oswald via AP)

The unharmed but stunned dog then ran away, prompting an immediate search with at least six complete strangers who witnessed the crash and pulled over along the highway to help, Oswald said.

“People just kept going out,” Oswald said, noting that the search lasted about 10 hours on Sunday before the family went home. “We were sore and exhausted.”

Oswald said the family then wrote a Facebook post that included a picture of the 2-year-old border collie and red heeler mix and more than 3,000 people shared the post. That’s when Tyler, Travis and Zane Potter recognized the dog in the photo as the same dog they saw on their family farm south of Rathdrum on Tuesday.

Both the Potters and Oswald think Tilly was drawn to the farm and their sheep.

“I think that dog was trying to herd,” Travis Potter said.

Oswald said if it weren’t for the post, he would still be out there.