Dog Missing After Devastating Crash Reunited With Owner Six Months Later

For six long months, Matthew Osborne didn’t know if he would ever see his best friend again.

Matthew and his dog Harley were constant companions, traveling together in Matthew’s semi-truck. But this past August, their routine was shattered when Matthew was involved in a serious crash in New Brunswick, Canada. The impact was catastrophic.

Matthew suffered multiple broken bones. He nearly lost a foot and required surgery to have a plate inserted in his face. Harley was thrown through the windshield. Miraculously, they both survived but in the chaos and fear, Harley ran off into the surrounding wilderness.

Matthew was rushed to hospital in New Brunswick before being transferred closer to home in Nova Scotia. His recovery was grueling.

“It’s been a long road,” he told CTV News. “For the first few weeks, I couldn’t even move from the injuries in hospital. I went from that to a wheelchair, then to a walker, then to a cane.”

While Matthew focused on healing, his family and members of the New Brunswick community focused on one mission: bringing Harley home.

Search efforts stretched on for weeks, then months. There were reported sightings of Harley, but none led to a successful capture. Meanwhile, the seasons changed. Summer faded into fall. Fall gave way to winter. Temperatures plunged to -30°C (-22°F).

“They had nights up there it was in the minus 30s and very cold, but he didn’t give up and neither did we,” Matthew said.

Hope flickered but it never fully disappeared. Then, exactly six months to the day after the crash, the call finally came. Harley had been found and safely caught by a trapper.

“The relief. The worry of it all being over. The stress just dropped,” Osborne said.

Against all odds, Harley had survived half a year in the wild and through freezing Canadian winter temperatures. Even more incredible, a veterinarian later gave him a clean bill of health. He does have tapeworms, but medication will take care of that.

Reunited at last, Matthew shared his emotions in a heartfelt Facebook post:

“Harley is finally home everyone. Six long months without my boy has been very difficult, especially with everything else I’ve endured since the accident. His absence has been one of the hardest things to deal with. Being reunited with him today has been more than I can even express right now.”

He also expressed deep gratitude to those who never gave up:

“A huge thank you to my dad for dealing with everything related to Harley since this all started. Also, thank you to the many people from multiple animal searches and rescues who helped. This is one dog they will never forget. A huge thank you to the community of Saint Louis de Kent, New Brunswick, for all their help and support, from responding to sightings of Harley to the trapper who finally caught him, and to the multiple landowners who helped and allowed us to set up and lend a hand in trying to bring my boy home.”

“I can’t thank everyone enough for all of this,” he added. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

After months of pain, uncertainty, and freezing nights in the wilderness, Harley is finally where he belongs — home.

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