After nearly a month on the run, Sarabi, a sled dog from Laura Allaway’s 2015 Iditarod team, has been found and reunited with the rest of the team. Laura, who was out of state and looking forward to seeing Sarabi on Tuesday, April 28th, was beyond happiness with the good news!

Due to a sore shoulder, Sarabi had been dropped at a checkpoint during the race and had returned safely to Anchorage where she was released to Laura’s dog handler.  On March 21, Sarabi slipped away from  the handler’s residence in Anchorage’s Oceanview neighborhood.  An immediate search for Sarabi began.  The search involved everything from putting up posters in Anchorage, Facebook postings, and news stories.  The search team followed every possible lead. 

Finally, after several weeks of searching for Sarabi, there was a confirmed spotting in Glacier View, about 100 miles from Anchorage.  A few days later, there was another confirmed sighting of Sarabi in Palmer.  The exact location of Sarabi wasn’t announced to the public because this 3 year old dog was shy and having lived in the wilderness for this long, could easily be spooked and run off again.  So a plan was put in place and observations continued.  Food, shelter, and water were placed near a live trap.  A camera was set up to capture photos of Sarabi as she interacted in the enticing and comfortable environment.  When searchers believed Sarabi was comfortable and it seemed to be the right time, the trap was set.  Within an hour, Sarabi was captured.

On Monday evening, April 20, Sarabi was captured in a live trap near the United Protestant Presbyterian Church. 

Sarabi has been safely returned to the kennel near Fairbanks.

 *Dropped dogs are dogs that a musher leaves at a checkpoint with the veterinarian staff.