A man's dog walked 4 miles to seek assistance after its owner fell off an embankment and got stuck in a ravine.
"When (Blue) didn't show up with his sister, Nova, I thought it was strange, said Millhollin to CNN.
Millhollin, 46, and Garrett, 60, had been driving separately from Halfway, Oregon, to a wooded campsite on June 2nd. Every summer, the two would camp there for a few days to chop firewood. Garrett should've been right behind Millhollin that day, but he never showed up. While waiting, Millhollin noticed Blue's nose has cuts instead of scratches, so he decided to drive back to town to find him.
In town, no one had seen or heard from Garrett, so Millhollin asked other friends in the area to help search.
By the next morning, Garrett still hadn't arrived. So, Millhollin contacted Garrett's brother, Tyree Garrett, who along with a friend, started searching for him.
Growing up in the area, Tyree Garrett recalled there were two places along the creek where vehicles could fall into and not be seen from the road. At the first location, he found the pickup truck Garrett had been driving. But it didn't offer any reassurance.
"I could see the injured dogs lying there and I kept calling for my brother," Tyree Garrett told CNN. "He wouldn't answer."
Without cell service, Tyree Garrett had to leave the site to call for help.
"I thought for sure when I was making the 911 call that I was calling for a body recovery," Tyree Garrett said, "so I was pretty heartbroken at the time."
Later, the family found out that Blue had walked about four miles from the crash site to alert Millhollin.
In the meantime, Brandon Garrett had spent the night in the ravine, hoping help would arrive.
The crash had occurred when he dozed off while driving, Garrett recalled: "I thought I'd make camp and I didn't. I'd come to taking a wrong turn and lost control and it beat me up pretty good."
Garrett said he was thrown through the windshield down the hill as the truck tumbled into the ravine. Bloodied and unable to move much, he leaned against the truck and passed out.
When he woke up, it was raining heavily, and he was waist-deep in the creek, so he crawled back for some shelter.
"I knew it was going to be touch and go to make it to dawn," he said.
Blue wasn't there, but Garrett had his three other dogs with him - also injured. "I was hoping just to survive because it didn't look good at that point. I was in a spot where I couldn't be seen from the road," Garrett said.
Around 9:30 am on June 3rd, the Baker County Sheriff's Office received Tyree Garrett's report of the crash. Law enforcement and Baker County Search and Rescue arrived at the scene.
When Sheriff Travis Ash reached the scene, he saw Brandon Garrett's truck was tilted in the steep ravine. He heard Garrett yelling and found him 100 yards away from the vehicle with three other dogs.
Ash provided first aid as the county rescue ropes team prepared to get Garrett. They later hoisted him in a rescue basket and pulled him across the ravine. Garrett was airlifted to a regional hospital, the sheriff's office said.
After the ordeal, Garrett received a hairline fracture in his foot and some lacerations. He recovered at home.
Garrett admitted he had been driving Millhollin's truck the day of the crash. Now, he hopes to raise money to replace it for his friend. However, Millhollin urges him to rest, saying, "I'm not worried about the truck. All that mattered is that they were all okay."
Three of Garrett's dogs, including Blue, are with him while he's recovering, but one is still at the veterinarian.
It's no surprise to those familiar with Blue - a mix of Pitbull, Australian Shepherd, and Whippet, among other breeds - that he found his way back to Millhollin after the accident.
Garrett said he often spends time with his dogs in those woods, and Blue knows the area so well that he can locate Garrett, find his way home, or navigate to Millhollin's house.
"I've been around dogs my entire life," Tyree Garrett said, "They've got a great sense of direction and they're just really savvy creatures."
Brandon Garrett refers to his companions as simply, "my best friends." [word count: 418]
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Millhollin was relieved when he heard that Blue had managed to find help, considering the entire community was involved in the search for Garrett.
In the aftermath of the incident, Millhollin expressed his gratitude towards Blue, acknowledging the dog's unwavering loyalty and bravery.
