The California wildfire last year was probably the most devastating wildfire in the history of California. The fatality even reached up to at least 80 people, including firefighters. The wildfire also destructed thousand of homes and other structures in the affected area.
It was during this 2018 Northern California wildfire that Gabriel Ballejos and his family had to abandon their home. Unfortunately, they also lost their dog in the midst of the uproar. Their Akita named Kingston leaped out of their truck and ran away.
The family searched for their missing dog, posting flyers and getting in touch with different shelters. Gabriel's daughter, Maleah, would always request to her dad to search for Kingston. They continued to search and did not want to lose hope.
One hundred and one days later, they were finally reunited with their cherished dog. Kingston was trapped by a rescue volunteer, Ben Lepe, and brought him to Friends of Camp Fire Cats. This group consists of volunteers that help trap and rescue pets and reunite them with their family.
The volunteer group had seen the missing dog post of the Ballejos family and immediately contacted them regarding Kingston. Gabriel felt very glad that their missing dog was finally found. He almost couldn't believe it, especially that Kingston had been missing for 101 days.
It was believed that Kingston hunted skunks for survival before his rescue. The 12-year-old Akita still smelled like a skunk even after the rescue volunteers already bathed him. Gabriel and his family nevertheless feel very proud of Kingston, being able to survive alone.
Below is the video of the heartwarming reunion of Kingston and the Ballejos family:
Video source: USA TODAY via their website
Thank you to our friends over at USA TODAY for sharing with us the original story.
