It’s not every week that animals and humans team up for stories of heartbreak, heroism, and hope, but this September, across the United States and the United Kingdom, that’s exactly what happened. From a tearful reunion at Pittsburgh International Airport to a dramatic search in the wilds of Missouri, and a missing marsupial mystery in Somerset, these animal tales have captivated communities and reminded us just how deeply our lives intertwine with those of our animal companions.
On the evening of Saturday, September 13, 2025, Kalynn Schweichler and her family arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport from Gilbert, Arizona, with their 3-year-old Shih Tzu named Peewee in tow. The mood was somber—they were in town for a family funeral—but nothing could have prepared them for what would unfold next. As Schweichler was sorting out a rental car, Peewee, spooked by something unseen, bolted from his leash and disappeared into the night. "My mother-in-law was holding his leash, and he just booked it," Schweichler recounted in an interview with Blue Sky PIT. Her husband and brother-in-law chased after the little dog, but despite their best efforts—resulting in two pulled hamstrings—Peewee was gone.
The family, unfamiliar with the city, found themselves searching through the airport grounds with the help of the Allegheny County Police Department. By 5 a.m. Sunday, after a sleepless night, hope was fading. "We were just devastated. We were thinking we might not ever find him," Schweichler said. "We're from out of town. How are we going to leave Pittsburgh without him?"
But Pittsburgh International Airport’s Operations team swung into action. Mark Nassan, a supervisor with 33 years at the airport, and Marc Buranovsky, operations manager for 20 years, led the charge. As soon as they heard about the missing Shih Tzu, the entire Ops team mobilized. "It was a whole team effort," Buranovsky told Blue Sky PIT. Working alongside local nonprofit H.A.R.T. (Home Pet Search and Rescue), the searchers scoured the property. When Peewee was spotted on a security camera, Nassan and Buranovsky plunged into the brush, weeds, and rocks. "As I started turning around to walk away, I caught something white out of the corner of my eye," Buranovsky recalled. "I pulled a branch away, and Peewee was tucked down in there."
Less than 24 hours after he went missing, Peewee was safe and back in his owner’s arms. Schweichler, overcome with emotion, wept tears of relief. "I just started bawling my eyes out," she said. For the airport team, it was all in a day’s work. "We take pride in what we do here in Ops," Buranovsky said. Nassan agreed: "Our job requires a lot of discipline. It’s just customer service." Schweichler was moved by the community’s response: "The more support we got, it finally gave us hope that we could actually get him back. It’s been so nice to see how much everybody cares."
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in Somerset, England, another animal drama was unfolding—this time with a more uncertain ending. On September 13, 2025, as the Glastonbury Tor Charter Fair’s fireworks display lit up the night, a male parma wallaby escaped from its enclosure at the Glastonbury Egg Company and Hybrid Hens. Owner Simon Harding believes the "noise reduced" fireworks were louder than advertised, spooking the two-year-old wallaby, who is about the size of a cat and sports a grey-brown coat with a white throat and chest. "The silent fireworks weren’t so silent after all," Harding wrote on Facebook. "I gave him [the wallaby] a few days to see if he was around but I have had no sign of him."
Despite deploying a drone to search the surrounding Somerset Levels—a landscape riddled with streams and reeds—there have been no sightings as of September 19. Harding is not optimistic. Speaking to BBC Somerset, he explained, "It could just keep going and going. The problem is, we're on the Somerset levels, so we've got streams, we've got streams with reeds in. If it's in a stream it's going to drown." The wallaby, which does not have a name, is a nocturnal animal native to Eastern Australia, typically resting in dense vegetation by day and feeding on grasses and herbs at night. Harding has urged the public to report any sightings, holding out hope for a safe return.
Back in the United States, another rescue story unfolded in Missouri’s rugged terrain—this time, with a canine hero at the center. In late July, 13-year-old Dakota “Cody” Trenkle went missing near Goose Creek Lake. After more than three days of searching by family, friends, and emergency responders, hope was waning. The area was steep, heavily forested, and unforgiving. Lt. Joe Gillam, leader of the K9 unit from Farmington Correctional Center, described it to KSDK-TV as "pretty much a straight down ditch... hilly, really thick undergrowth. It was rough terrain, really rough."
Enter K9 Daryl, a bloodhound with an extraordinary nose. Within just 20 minutes of being put on the trail, Daryl did what dozens of humans could not—he found Cody, who had fallen 240 feet into a ravine and landed in a foot of water. Cody was in dire straits, suffering from deep cuts, severe head trauma, brain bleeds, skull fractures, pneumonia, and infections from water exposure. He was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital and spent two weeks in a medically induced coma. In mid-August, he woke up and used sign language to tell his mother, "I love you," a moment his mother, Stephanie Neely, described to People as "pivotal."
By mid-September, Cody was well enough to return to school, though he had to avoid crowded hallways for safety. One of the highlights of his recovery was reuniting with K9 Daryl. "Thank you," Cody told his four-legged rescuer. "Thanks, Bubbas." He later told KSDK, "I got to meet the dog that saved my life. If I’d had to spend a couple more hours down there, I wouldn’t have made it. But because of him, 20 minutes, man, I’m impressed." Gillam echoed the sentiment, saying, "Twenty minutes on a three-day-old track, that’s almost unheard of." The Missouri Department of Corrections honored Daryl and his team, but for Gillam, the real reward was seeing Cody safe. "Just seeing that what we do every week in training paid off, that’s what we worked for. And this time, it worked out best-case scenario."
Whether it’s a Shih Tzu found in airport brush, a wallaby lost in the Somerset Levels, or a boy rescued from a ravine by a determined bloodhound, these stories remind us of the powerful bonds between people and animals—and the extraordinary efforts communities will undertake to bring loved ones home.
