Two years ago, a heavily pregnant German shepherd was discovered wandering alone through the woods of Washington state. Jim Branson, founder of Useless Bay Sanctuary, took her in — and the very next day, she gave birth to a tiny puppy about “the size of a burrito.” He was named Tino.
No one could have guessed then that this once-helpless puppy would grow up to return to those same woods as a hero.
As Tino grew, he often tagged along to search-and-rescue training sessions with other dogs. It didn’t take long for Branson to notice something special.
“He’d show up to training days, and when we evaluated him at about five months old, he just nailed it,” Branson told The Dodo. “He found the lost dog every single time.”
Branson officially adopted Tino, and after 16 months of training, the pup earned his place on the team at Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue.
So when a call came in about an 11-year-old, deaf Great Pyrenees named Puppy who had gone missing in the woods, Branson knew exactly who to bring.
Puppy had disappeared while accompanying his owner on a horseback ride. When she noticed him following behind, she turned back toward home — but somewhere along the way, they became separated. Volunteers searched for the lost dog, but the woods were vast, and Puppy couldn’t hear anyone calling for him.
By Saturday morning, nearly two days later, Tino and Branson met Puppy’s owner to retrace her route.
“It took about 90 minutes for her to find the exact spot where she last saw him,” Branson said. “Once I gave Tino Puppy’s scent, he took off immediately.”
For 45 minutes, Tino led the group over fallen logs and through dense trees before stopping at a muddy pond — barking nonstop.
“At first, we couldn’t even understand what we were seeing,” Branson said. “Two-thirds of Puppy was submerged in the mud. Tino barked at this swamp monster until he realized it was actually a dog.”
The situation was serious. Puppy, weighing around 150 pounds, was stuck fast. Branson laid branches across the mud to get closer, then carefully tried to pull Puppy free.
“He was wedged in so tightly that I didn’t want to hurt him,” Branson said.
With help from Puppy’s owner and her husband — plus ropes and straps — the trio slowly worked Puppy loose, inch by inch.
After more than a day trapped in mud, Puppy was weak and unable to stand. He was loaded into an ATV trailer and taken home to recover.
Dirty, exhausted and shaken, Puppy was finally safe — and his family was overwhelmed with gratitude.
For Tino, the rescue was just another chance to do what he loves most: helping lost dogs find their way home.
Once a dog who needed saving himself, Tino now lives for the moment he can return the favor — and his dad couldn’t be prouder.
To support dogs like Tino, you can donate to Useless Bay Sanctuary.
