The Night We Found Athena: A PAWS Patrol Rescue Story
Thanksgiving weekend is usually quiet for us. Most people are home with their families, sitting around dinner tables, eating turkey, and sharing stories. But for those of us at PAWS Patrol, the work never stops. The stray dog crisis in Las Vegas doesn’t pause for the holidays. If anything, it gets worse.
That night, we were running the usual rounds—checking hotspots where stray dogs tend to hide, leaving food and water in places we knew they’d visit. The city is full of abandoned dogs, and we do what we can. The nights get cold in the desert, and for the ones left to fend for themselves, every hour matters.
We didn’t know it yet, but that night would change everything.
A Desperate Search in the Dark
Just past midnight, we got a call from a gas station worker. Someone had lost their dog nearby, a black and white border collie named Athena. She had bolted when fireworks went off, terrified, and ran into the desert.
We knew what that meant.
The desert can swallow a dog whole—coyotes, barbed wire, dehydration, disorientation. If a dog doesn’t find its way back within the first few hours, survival chances drop fast. The longer they’re out there, the harder it is to bring them home. And Athena had already been missing for over a day when we got involved.
The Search Begins
When we arrived at the gas station, Athena’s owner was still out there, flashlight in hand, calling her name. He looked exhausted, and we knew the feeling well. We had seen it too many times before—that mix of hope and heartbreak, the desperation of looking for something you love when it feels like you’re running out of time.
We immediately got to work. Everyone had their role—one person tracking Athena’s prints, another leaving food at spots she might pass again, another checking in with locals. I was with Dani that night, driving the highway in slow loops, scanning the darkness with our flashlights and thermal scopes.
Hours passed. No sign of her.
By the third day, even we were starting to worry. Most dogs find their way back within 24 hours. If they don’t, it means they’re either stuck or too afraid to move. If she’d been injured or caught in barbed wire, we needed to find her—fast.
Then, something strange happened.
A Mysterious Encounter
We were about to wrap up our search for the night when a woman appeared, walking along the highway. She was clearly homeless, dressed in layers of old clothes, carrying her life in plastic bags. She stopped when she saw us, eyes sharp despite the exhaustion on her face.
“There was a dog,” she said, pointing down the road. “She was running that way. Black and white, right?”
We asked her for details, where exactly she had seen Athena, how long ago. But before we could get much more from her, she was gone—disappearing down the dark road, swallowed up by the night. We never saw her again. None of us knew who she was, where she was going, or why she had stopped to help.
But she had given us a lead.
The Moment We Found Athena
On the fourth day, we found her. She was lying in a dry wash, barely moving, exhausted from running and hiding. When her owner called out, we held our breath. Dogs in survival mode don’t always respond right away; sometimes, they don’t recognize their own people.
For a few agonizing seconds, Athena hesitated, her eyes wild and uncertain. And then, something clicked.
She ran.
Straight into her owner’s arms.
We stood back, watching as the dog we had spent four days searching for finally came home. These moments never get old—the way relief floods in, the way a lost dog’s body relaxes when they realize they’re safe.
That night, something bigger happened than just finding a lost dog. It was the moment PAWS Patrol started to take shape. For years, we had been doing what we could, but this rescue proved how much of a difference a dedicated team could make. Athena’s story spread. People started reaching out, asking how they could help.
And from that night forward, we knew: PAWS Patrol had a mission.
To be the ones who don’t give up. To bring them all home.
