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Dozens of volunteers, many who the Brandenburgs did not know, had searched in cars, bikes and on foot for the 68-pound American Bully. Ruth had uncharacteristically bolted out of Shawna’s husband, Mark Brandenburg’s, sister’s family house while being watched as the Brandenburg family celebrated a late Christmas in Wisconsin Dells.

Alerted to the lost dog by Facebook posts and flyers, volunteer search groups organized. Two people helped with drones. Ruth had been sighted on Tuesday near Kennedy Elementary School but had bolted from rescuers.

On Thursday, another Ruth sighting was messaged to Sami Powell, the Brandenburg’s daughter, by Lindsay Kennedy who had been one of the lead searchers after she saw Facebook posts about Ruth.

Shawna jumped in her car and drove to the area of Ingram and Winthrop drives just west of Wuthering Hills Drive north of Highway 14.

There she spotted Ruth heading down the street. She threw treats out the car window and hoped the family pet would not bolt. Ruth walked into a driveway and stopped.

Shawna slowly got out of her car, walked to the driveway and slowly sank to the ground.

‘I missed you, Ruthie Bean’

This was not the Ruth that the Brandenburg family has raised for five years. Shawna had been told that lost dogs go into a “survival mode” that basically shuts down their behavorial patterns and makes everything—including their owners--a potential danger to the animal.

Shawna, as she had been advised to do in that situation and which she had gone over in her mind throughout the day to prepare for the moment, got low in the driveway to avoid being a dominant figure. She also avoided eye contact.

“I could see her from the corner of my eye, and I threw a couple of treats to her,” Brandenburg recalled Monday.

And then Brandenburg began singing to the family dog she loved, which she also had been advised to do.

“I missed you, Ruthie Bean,” she sang, using a nickname she often calls the pet.

“I thought that would trigger something,” Brandenburg said. “You could tell that helped.”

Ruthie took a couple of steps toward her trembling owner. A few more tossed treats got her closer.

“I just kept singing,” Brandenburg said.

Brandenburg had to pause in her recollection oFeirnf those moments.

“I’m going to start crying,” she said. “The whole thing was incredible.”

Shawna got a leash on Ruthie. The whole episode took two minutes. It ended five days of emotional ups and downs that any pet owner can understand and never want to go through.

Family moved a month before

The five-day saga ended a six-week eventful stretch for the Brandenburgs.

The family sold their house located on Pintal Drive, less than a half mile of where Ruth was eventually found, on Dec. 4. After a week in Florida for a family vacation, Mark and Shawna, along with son Brett and Ruth moved into their new house located between Milton and Whitewater, on Dec. 11.

On Friday, the family left for their annual weekend Christmas celebration in Wisconsin Dells. Ruth was supposed to stay at the kennel the family had used before, but a mix-up necessitated a change of plans. Shawna’s sister, Karin Humphrey, volunteered to take care of Ruth for the weekend, as their family had done in the past.

Ruth bolted through an open back door of the residence on Spaulding Avenue after being pottied Saturday afternoon. She had never done that before. Shawna has no idea what caused her to run. Maybe Ruth saw a car that resembled the Brandenburg’s, but that is only a guess.

Karin and husband, Greg, searched the area for a few hours with no sign of Ruth. They called the Brandenburgs, who cut their weekend getaway short by a day to return to Janesville on Saturday night.

Thomas Romano of Skytracker Drone Service met the family at the Humphrey residence at 10:30 p.m. Using a thermal tracker device, Romano spotted people letting their dogs out after the Packers-Bears game, deer and curled-up foxes.

But no lone dog sighting.

Lost Dogs of Wisconsin to the rescue

Sami Powell contacted Lost Dogs of Wisconsin, a non-profit, volunteer organization based in Wales. Louise Andraski, a volunteer who lives in Stoughton, responded.

“She was gentle and gave really good information, but mostly tried to keep me staying positive,” Brandenburg said.

Andraski took Brandenburg through the do’s and don’ts of finding lost dogs who enter survival mode shortly after becoming lost. The main pieces of advice are don’t chase the animal when spotted, don’t make loud noises such as calling their names, large search parties are apt to scare the animal and singing helps calm the animal.

On Monday, after Facebook posts alerted many in the community of Ruth, a sighting was reported around Rock Haven retirement home, almost five miles from the Humphrey residence.

Neil Schneider and Michael Feirn spent all of Sunday searching trails with their drones. Son-in-law Cody Powell searched the Rock Haven area all day Monday with no luck.

Finally, a sighting

Cody caught sight of Ruth on Tuesday on Currie Lane near Kennedy Elementary School, which is less than a mile from the Powell residence.

Another area resident, Marquee Rueth, called Sami to report seeing Ruth.

Ruth was behind a fence and then bolted, running across the heavily-traveled Highway 14. Rueth reported Ruth made it across and was running on Wuthering Hills toward Harmony Townhall Road.

Son-in-law Cody Powell arrived as did Schneider and Feirn who sent up their drones. There was no sight of Ruth.

Andraski said lost dogs typically find a spot where they can settle and spend most of their time at that spot, which apparently Ruth had done.

“Once they find water and food, they can get carcasses and garbage,” Andraski said. “It just depends on where they’re at.”

There were no signs of Ruth on Wednesday.

“We prayed so hard that there would be a sighting,” Brandenburg said.

Andraski was set to drive to Janesville on Thursday to set live traps, which often capture lost dogs.

‘I got her’

They weren’t needed. Ruth was spotted in the same area as Tuesday. This time, Brandenburg was able to coax her traumatized dog close enough to get a leash on Ruth.

Andraski got an immediate text from Brandenburg.

“I got her,” it read.

“I started crying,” Andraski said.

There were plenty of tears shed Thursday.

Ruth lost four pounds during her run. Her paw pads were damaged and are mending, and a veterinarian checkup revealed no other problems.

On Friday, Ruth was her playful self, safely at home.

“I feel like the entire community, even all the way up to Jefferson, some people said they came from Jefferson to search,” Brandenburg said. “It seemed like so many people were so vested.

“It was so important to everybody as much as it was to us. It was overwhelming to be honest.”