Oregon Man Reunites with Dog After Sustaining Life-Changing Injuries in Car Crash That Left Pet Missing

An Oregon man has reunited with his missing dog one day after being involved in a car crash that left him with "life-altering injuries."

Matthew Weatherman now has what his family is calling a "fighting chance" after being joined by his pup named Bravery in the hospital. Weatherman sustained multiple injuries including "a collapsed lung, a fractured pelvis, and five fractured vertebrae" in the crash, per a GoFundMe campaign.

On Monday, Dec. 2, Weatherman was airlifted to a local hospital after hitting a patch of black ice while driving on Highway 26 during a journey from Portland to Astoria, Oregon, his family told Fox affiliate KPTV. After hitting the ice, Weatherman's vehicle went off the road, landed sideways and wrapped around a tree, per the outlet.

Weatherman's dog then "fled the scene" and was then "lost in a dense forest and ravine," the GoFundMe noted.

Related: Hero Dog Runs 4 Miles to Get Help for Owner After Oregon Car Crash

Weatherman's mothers, Colleen and Susan Carette, told KPTV that they visited their son in the hospital after his crash, which had also left him with a "lacerated spleen." While there, they realized he was wondering what happened to Bravery.

“Here he is helpless. He kept trying to get up," Susan recalled. "I know he was trying to go find her. He kept trying to find her and we knew [he was trying to say] ‘Where’s Bravery?’ but he couldn’t."

With the help of Waggin’ Tails Search and Rescue and other family and friends, loved ones visited the location of the crash in Banks, Oregon and searched for three-and-a-half hours, Susan told the outlet. Bravery eventually appeared but was startled, before Susan and Colleen's dog Daisy then went in to assist.

“Search and rescue said not to call our Bravery’s name, nothing like that, they said just have a conversation and I did. I would tell Daisy ‘Where’s Bravery, where’s the puppy, do you hear the puppy?’ So, we did that for quite some time and then I heard a whimper, and I looked, and I saw these little black eyes and this little snout in the bushes. I would not have seen her if she hadn’t alerted me,” Susan said.

Bravery, who was "shaking" and "scared," then came out of the bushes to Susan, who trekked a steep ravine to then return the dog to her son.

“Bravery came and got to smell him and then lick him and Matthew was just so happy. You could just feel the energy emanating in the room,” Colleen said.

“When he was young, we taught our sons ‘I love you’ is [signaling with your hand,] one, four, three. We had gotten there before Bravery and we told him ‘Bravery’s coming, we found her,’ and all he could do was signal with his hand ‘I love you’ over and over and tears were coming off of him,” Susan added, noting that "now we know that he has a fighting chance."

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A GoFundMe update shared by organizer Lee Ellen Reed noted on Dec. 3 that Bravery was located in a "speedy turn of events" and had "lived up to her name." In a follow-up update that same day, the organizer shared a "touching (and overwhelming) photo of Matthew in his hospital bed with Bravery."

"She braved through the frozen night in the snow in the woods on the side of Highway 26 outside of Banks, OR," Reed wrote. "We are over the moon! Welcome home, Bravery!!!"

On Wednesday, Dec. 4, another GoFundMe update noted that Weatherman had since seen the pup a few times.

"She is starting to relax and feel safe after her trauma and has quickly become beloved in the ICU for her sweetness, obvious devotion to her dad, and of course her incredible ears," the updated read. "Matthew's surgeries went well and he should be out of the ICU and into a longer term room in the next couple days. He spoke his first words last night and said he is happy to be alive."

"When I told him about the GoFundMe his eyes filled with tears. Thank you thank you everyone for your love and support I know it means the world to him."

Weatherman was also able to reunite with his other dog, Willoughby.

As of Friday, Dec. 6, the GoFundMe has reached nearly $30,000 of its $50,000 goal, dedicated to Weatherman's recovery, which will require "surgeries, hospitalization, and months of physical therapy."

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