A yellow Labrador Retriever named Kota Bean is infamous in her household for being an incredibly skilled escape artist.
She not only managed to break free from a damaged electric fence after a storm in Macon, Georgia, but she also outsmarted all the other barriers keeping her confined.
However, her latest escape was notably different.
Escape Artist
Kellie Deck Tuten turned to her Facebook to share how, despite their best efforts, they found it impossible to keep Kota contained.
“We’ve tried countless crates, kennels, cages, and various methods to keep her confined during the limited hours we needed,” Kellie wrote.
Fortunately, even when she ran away, Kota never strayed too far from home. Her family would often find her, or she’d return after a few hours.
However, with her most recent escape, the sun was setting and Kota had vanished.
The Tuten family quickly sprang into action and organized a search party. They began distributing flyers and reached out to every animal shelter in Macon, hoping for news about their cherished dog.
The family explored every possible option to reunite with their beloved pet. Unfortunately, as a year passed with no sign of Kota, their hopes began to dim.
But things were about to take a turn.
A Very Familiar Face
While browsing the Bibb County Animal Shelter’s website, the family stumbled upon a very recognizable face.
They noted a general location in the description, and that’s when I realized it was her – I KNEW it was Kota.
Kellie recognized the area where Kota had been last seen and decided to reach out to a friend who lived nearby.
Kellie’s friend reported that she indeed saw Kota wandering the area and promised to inform her whenever she spotted the dog. Kellie would rush to Kota’s last known location, but by the time she arrived, Kota had always vanished.
Despite the frustration, Kellie remained hopeful. Additionally, she was contacted by another rescuer who had updates about Kota since her disappearance.
Lisa Wood … had been providing meals for my dog bi-daily, took in her (not just one, but TWO litters of) puppies, and found loving homes for all of them.
Lisa mentioned that she had spotted Kota recently but was unaware of where the dog was hiding her newest litter.
Lisa and Kellie teamed up with a mission to locate Kota’s puppies and bring her back to safety.
Rescue Mission
Though they had several near encounters with Kota, capturing her remained elusive. Luckily, Lisa successfully managed to slip a collar with a GPS tracker around Kota’s neck, enabling them to track her location.
However, upon reaching the location, they faced another challenge.
Kota darted to a drain pipe, sniffed around, and then retreated several steps to lay down. We had a strong feeling the puppies were inside … but we couldn’t hear or see a thing.
Calling in reinforcements, the team, along with Amy Beth Wall and Sean Wall, managed to dig into the tunnel, providing a better reach to the little family.
Hours of dedicated digging later, the rescue team successfully retrieved four adorable puppies from the drain pipe.
Even with the puppies now safe, the rescue mission was not yet complete. Kota was still unaccounted for, frightened and unwilling to join her family.
It wasn’t until the following night that we finally coaxed Kota into the car with us and the puppies to bring her home.
The rescue was successfully accomplished, and Kota, along with her pups, was joyfully reunited with her family.
New Life
The puppies adjusted to their new home quickly, but Kota required more time to acclimatize.
She is gradually getting comfortable with us. She’s less inclined to come indoors, which is a significant shift from her earlier behavior. Yet, she comes to greet us when we’re in the yard.
While Kota enjoys affectionate moments with her humans, she continues to need time to recuperate from the traumatic experiences of life outside her safe home.
She appears uninterested in her previous toys or anything else. This is tough for us because it suggests she might be unhappy, but we believe it’s more about her lingering trauma from having to fight for safety.
The Tuten family has chosen to give Kota the time she needs to adjust to her new environment at her own pace, hopeful she will gradually regain her comfort.
For now, they are simply grateful that Kota Bean is back where she belongs and are thrilled to have four cute puppies playing in their yard, bringing joy to everyone who sees them.
