Homeward Bound: Lost Dog Returns Home After Six Days

Alexandra Buchholz' world was turned upside down when her dog ran away last week.

It was a pet owner's nightmare. Molly, an eight-year-old chow-golden retriever mix, had run out of a door left open by the maid on July 31. Molly had always been shy and skittish since they picked her up from the Humane Society four years ago – but she had never done anything like this.

"I was livid," Buchholz recalled. "I was mad at my husband. I was mad at the maid. And I was scared. I was probably more frightened then I was angry."

Buchholz launched a massive flier campaign of at least 100 fliers across the North Shore. She called all seven North Shore police departments, along with Lost Dogs of Wisconsin and Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission. She also posted a huge fluorescent pink sign outside their house on the corner of Lake and Silver Spring drives.

She also reached out to Hounds Around Town pet store, which posted fliers on their prominent Silver Spring Drive storefront and helped fuel a widespread social media movement that reached an estimated 6,000 people.

The next couple days were nerve-wracking for the Buchholz family. People reported seeing Molly near Bayshore Town Center and at the Wisconsin Athletic Club – five miles away from home.

"I was beside myself," Buchholz said. "We had done all these things and driven all over the place and still no Molly."

Then at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning, the phone rang.

"Are you looking for your dog," asked the man on the phone. "Because she's standing out here on the sidewalk in front of your sign."

In a groggy state of disbelief, Buchholz walked out to find a man in a white delivery truck pointing to Molly on the front sidewalk. Although Molly was a little skittish and covered in burrs, she had successfully survived six days on some of the North Shore's busiest urban streets. 

When Molly finally got close enough to sniff her owner's hand, she rolled over on her belly in a submissive state.

"It’s a miracle. It really is," Buchholz said. "When you think about some of the streets she was on, and somehow she found her way back home."