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JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald
Harold McConnell feared Mogli, a “mascot” at Sunshine Gardens, had been the victim of a coyote after he ran away after being spooked by New Year’s Eve fireworks. He was found in a field outside Ignacio. Mogli belongs to Camilla Gallegos, an administrative assistant at Sunshine Gardens.
Mogli, a 9-year-old black Pekinese-Shih Tzu mix, has had an interesting start to the new year.
The residents of Sunshine Gardens are used to seeing him every day in the lobby with his owner, Camilla Gallegos, 28.
“He’s become our mascot,” said Gallegos, Sunshine Gardens’ administrative assistant. “The residents really took to him.”
But just after midnight on Jan. 1, Mogli was spooked by fireworks and ran off from his home in Ignacio.
Sunshine Gardens resident Harold McConnell, 76, was distraught.
“Every day he expects somebody to pay attention, and it’s usually me,” McConnell said. “When he went missing, I said, ‘Where’s my dog?’”
He feared the worst.
“I was afraid a coyote got him,” he said.
Fortunately, it was a protector and not a predator who found him Jan. 5, five days after he disappeared.
Mike Sackett, a flow-test supervisor for Farmington-based MVCI Energy Services, said that it was a bitter-cold morning when he arrived at a well site about two miles outside of Ignacio.
It was there in a dark field that he spotted Mogli.
“It was probably only 10 degrees out when I found him,” Sackett said. “He was shivering and eating snow, so I got him water.”
From the tags on Mogli’s collar, Sackett saw Gallegos’ phone number.
“I called the number and found the young lady who was the owner,” Sackett said. “I’m really blessed to be a part of bringing them back together.”
Mogli had become something of a “therapy dog” for the residents at Sunshine Gardens because “every day he is just there for them,” Gallegos said.
Betty Williams, 83, said she was overjoyed to learn he survived.
“I was so happy that I cried. I just couldn’t believe that he was alive and OK,” she said.
Sackett said it was clear the small dog was relieved to have been rescued.
“He got in my truck and sat there ready to go for a ride as happy as could be,” Sackett said. “I think he was just happy to be in the heat.”
An examination by Mogli’s veterinarian showed although he had lost weight, he was healthy and uninjured.
