Service Dog Missing For 2 Months Found Alive At Bottom Of Cliff

Robynne Simons-Sealy has lived with an "extremely rare disease" ever since she turned 20. Now, in her late 30s, she's reliant on the support and assistance of a service dog in training named Nova.

Sadly, tragedy struck when Nova vanished in a parking lot on October 5, leading to a large-scale search and rescue effort centered in Colorado that culminated in the pair reuniting once more on November 19.

Simons-Sealy opened up to Newsweek about the horror she felt over the past two months, and her joy at finally being able to bring much-loved Nova back home.

Nova, according to her owner, is not a registered service dog. The loyal Bernese Mountain dog was being independently trained by Simons-Sealy to respond to certain tasks because her owner has been unable to qualify for a legally recognized service dog due to the rarity of her disease.

Simons-Sealy suffers from Takayasu arteritis, which is also known as 'pulseless disease'. The Cleveland Clinic defines the condition as being an extremely rare form of blood vessel inflammation.

Despite her disputable title, Nova quickly learned to help her owner stand upright and call for additional support whenever she experienced a seizure.

"I have trouble with blood flow in my upper body, specifically in my brain. My carotid arteries are severely compromised and I currently have an aneurysm on my aorta. I've have had two strokes to date and suffer from regular dizziness and balance issues," Simons-Sealy told Newsweek.

Being vulnerable to falls and sudden mini-stroke episodes, Simons-Sealy is in constant need of Nova's help. Sadly, she was torn apart from the dog in the most unexpected circumstances in October and had to wait for an agonizingly long period to see her again.

The pair had been driving home from a visit to see relatives when Simons-Sealy decided to stop at a grocery store for some medical necessities. The dog owner remembers Nova getting spooked by something that she cannot recall in the parking lot, and running off shortly before the pair were about to get back inside the car.

While running in a directionless manner, Nova's leash got stuck under the wheel of a truck that was stationed in the parking lot.

"Three large guys quickly ran up to free her leash from the wheel, but since she was already spooked they unintentionally frightened her even more. She managed to wiggle out of all her visibility gear. She looked completely petrified and just ran off," Simons-Sealy said.

The next moments were filled with panic and distress, the dog owner recalled.

"I immediately started looking and calling on people to help me look. I started posting on social media apps too. A wonderful woman named Karen found out and started helping me," she added.

Little did Simons-Sealy and her friends know that their search for Nova would drag on for two months. The distraught dog owner spent the first few days without Nova staying up in her car, taking naps whenever she could, and using all her energy to drive around the grocery store and "scream" Nova's name.

The stress of Nova's disappearance became too much for Simons-Sealy, whose health was already on the line.

"I didn't tell anyone this but by the third day, the lack of sleep and stress caused me to have one of my stroke-like seizures outside a store where I was trying to put up posters of Nova," Simons-Sealy opened up.

"I was rushed to the hospital, presenting with all the symptoms of a stroke, unable to speak and unable to move. At the hospital, they ran many tests and none revealed a stroke. The doctors didn't know what it was and by the evening, it had somewhat passed."

However, Simons-Sealy refused to give up hope and soldiered on in her search for Nova and Karen helped her put over 80 posters up in their Jefferson County town. The pair would camp out in cars together, desperately keeping their eyes open and torches on for any sightings that could lead the way to the missing dog.

The two women would call on others in their community to check their security cameras for any footage that could reveal the dog's whereabouts. Simons-Sealy even piled together strands of hair that she'd found in her hairbrush and let them go in the air, in the hope that the scent of her hair would help Nova trace her.

While Simons-Sealy and her friends were keen to keep morale high, those searching for Nova reside in a mountainous region where bears, mountain lions and other wild animals roam. All of these creatures posed a risk to a surviving Nova, who the group feared could be attacked at any moment.

Collective anxiety rose when harsh winter winds began to replace the gentle breeze of Fall. Colorado is well-known for being a popular skiing spot, but every time snow fell, Simons-Sealy cried.

As the temperature dropped and tales of dangerous wild animals were told, Simons-Sealy started to lose hope. It was then that she received the call that her beloved dog had been found alive.

"On Sunday, November 19, at exactly 3 PM, I got a call from the Jefferson County Animal Control staff. A woman on the line said that hikers had found my dog. I was told that Nova had been found in pain and in a state of trauma. She was found under a tree just below an outcropping of boulders under a cliff," Simons-Sealy said.

Nova's owner raced to the bottom of the mountain on the outskirts of Conifer where her dog had been found injured. Simons-Sealy watched as her friend Karen and a team of offers embarked on a three-mile hike to reach Nova at the summit. Once rescued, it dawned on Nova's rescuers that the dog had survived two or three brutal snow storms.

"Once there, an officer gave her a can of cat food which calmed her so they were able to wrap her up and bring her down. We took Nova to an emergency veterinary center, her leg was broken in multiple places and we were told that she would need an orthopedic surgeon," Nova's owner added.

Simons-Sealy wasn't convinced and spent the next morning calling up local vets and clinics and sending X-ray copies around to get second and third opinions on the state of Nova's leg.

One veterinarian told the dog owner that Nova's leg was completely shattered and would need to be amputated fast. A week later, while waiting for an appointment to have Nova's leg amputated, Simons-Sealy received a call from a second doctor who expressed that she would like to save the dog's leg.

Nova is due to go back to the clinic and receive surgery on her leg and her owner, who is already battling numerous health conditions, now has to help her recover. It will take a long time until Nova is well enough, if ever, to embark on more service dog training.

Nova had been due to take her very first 'Canine Good Citizen' test on the afternoon that she disappeared, to determine whether she has what it takes to train formally as a service dog.

"I am thrilled to have Nova back more than words can say, but I am sad that I am again back to square one in trying to get a service dog," Simons-Sealy said.

She describes Nova as being "happy" to finally be back home.

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