Dog lost for 6 weeks in Sierras reunited with owner

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Cece remains skittish, perhaps due to the presumably harrowing six weeks of survival the 11-year-old dog recently endured in the mountains of El Dorado National Forest.

Oakland resident Vivian Tsay said she did not expect to ever see her dog again after she lost her during a camping trip back in July.

Tsay said she was on a hike with Cece when the dog got spooked by the crashing sounds of a waterfall and took off.

After an extensive search, Tsay had to return back to the Bay Area without her dog.

But she left behind posters and signs asking for people to keep a look out for her missing pet.

Those signs paid off. Tsay received word of a couple sightings.

So six weeks after her dog's disappearance the loyal owner returned to the Sierras in hopes of a reunion. 

"I was alerted by a family from Sacramento that was camping at Camino Cove Campground, they saw my sign," explained Tsay.

She was lucky. After reaching the area where Cece was last seen, Tsay spotted the dog.

But she soon found it was going to be very difficult to close in on Cece.

With dusk fast approaching, Tsay saw Cece at one location and as she tried to catch up with her, the animal went on the run again.

Cece took off up and over a ridge and just kept going, according to Tsay.

It got dark and Tsay had to wait until the next morning to try again.

She called in reinforcement to help her in her retrieval mission. She said her cousin along with her dog, Captain Louise Jones made all the difference.

The next morning, with their help Tsay managed to finally get Cece to gain enough trust to be captured.

Cece had lost quite a bit of weight but otherwise seemed healthy.

Park rangers believe the dog survived by feeding off garbage and food left behind by campers.

Dog and owner are now back at home.

No one will ever know what challenges of survival the dog endured, but it looks like Cece is happy to be back, getting reacquainted with her old life.