Dog lost for 6 days during snowstorm and sub-zero temperatures rescued in Beaver County

A dog missing for six days during a snowstorm and sub-zero temperatures was reunited with her owners after first responders rescued her from under a train trestle in Beaver County.

First responders said they were flagged on Tuesday night by a homeless man who spotted a dog below a train trestle in Bridgewater. They knew about a dog named Willow who had been missing for days, and it turned out she was down there, still alive. 

"She did not want to come to us initially," said David Shipman, a firefighter with the New Brighton Volunteer Fire Department. "You could tell she was cold. Scared of us, a bunch of strangers. She's been down there for six days. She was covered in ice, like on the backend."

Video taken by another first responder showed Willow being hoisted up. They think she had been down there for days, digging a trench and hunkering down to stay warm. The rest is anyone's guess. But what matters is she's safe.

"The sheer fact of a successful rescue and being able to reunite Willow with the family, it was great, right?" said Bridgewater Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chuck Bates. "Where the dog was, I'm surprised that she survived, and I'm very glad that she did, as is the family."

Willow is now happy to be back home with her family. How did she survive all that time? Her family says the answer may be in her DNA. She's half Pomeranian and half husky. 

"She has a lot of husky in her," Willow's owner Sydney Anderson said. "I think her cold survival instincts took place. I think she was able to find shelter and drink water, whatever she could find."

The Beaver County lost and found pets Facebook page is collecting money to buy items to help out the "hero" who found Willow.