GPS Saves the Day: Dog Trapped in Texas Floods Found Alive After 16 Hours

🕗 News Published on

25 Jul 2025

Thomas

When devastating floodwaters swept through a Texas ranch on July 4, Ziva the dog vanished without a trace. What followed was a race against time—and a life-saving GPS collar that guided rescuers straight to where she was trapped and alone.

Dog Missing in Floodwaters Found Alive with Help of GPS Collar

A Holiday Turned Nightmare

What was supposed to be a peaceful Fourth of July getaway quickly spiraled into panic for Erin Doguet, a ranch owner in Texas. Erin had left her Medina River ranch—home to over 200 animals—in the care of her sister Shannon and pet sitter Taelyn while she traveled to Colorado.

Among those left behind were her two working livestock guardian dogs: 8-year-old Turkish Kangal Ziva and 2-year-old Central Asian Shepherd Una. But on July 4, as torrential rains triggered flash floods across the region, Ziva disappeared.

“Ziva may have taken off after a predator, or was possibly spooked by the storm,” Erin later explained. As floodwaters surged across the back of the property—bordering the Medina River—Ziva was swept away and became trapped.

Dog Who Went Missing During Texas Flood, Found Alive in Debris Thanks to GPS Collar — **Ziva the dog on the ranch and Ziva stuck in a flooded gully.**

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One Lifesaving Detail: A GPS Collar

Luckily, Erin had long equipped her dogs with GPS collars, allowing remote tracking even while she was 1,500 miles away. While Shannon and Taelyn searched on the ground with no visual clue where Ziva had gone, Erin monitored her exact location live from Colorado.

Using the app, Erin guided her sister and pet sitter to the signal emitted by Ziva’s collar. “The app worked flawlessly,” Erin said. “It was the only reason we found her in time.”

Even then, the dog remained out of sight. But thanks to a smart feature in the app—a sound that can play from the collar—Ziva’s faint cries were heard in the dense underbrush. Shannon followed the beeps, eventually spotting Ziva, soaked and exhausted, trapped in a flooded gully.

A Dramatic Rescue Just in Time

The situation was perilous. Ziva had spent approximately 16 hours stranded, surrounded on all sides by danger: a roaring river at her back, and slick, steep mud banks on the other three sides. There was no way out.

“She was just dead weight,” said Shannon, describing how fatigued Ziva had become. At 120 pounds, the dog had no energy left to help in her own rescue. But Shannon and Taelyn managed to lift her to safety, inch by inch.

Erin, still in Colorado, burst into tears upon hearing Ziva was alive. “When the tracker showed her in the same location for hours, I thought the worst,” she admitted. “Knowing she was alive felt like a miracle.”

A dog is visible amidst branches and debris in a wooded area enclosed in a circled section of the image for emphasis — **Ziva shortly before her rescue.**

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Safe, Sound, and Stronger Than Ever

After the harrowing ordeal, Ziva drank water voraciously and slept for 12 hours straight. Miraculously, she suffered no major injuries.

Ziva’s survival is thanks in part to her own strength—but mostly to the power of preparation. A GPS collar not only saved her life but brought peace to her human thousands of miles away. “I will never go without one again,” Erin says.

Her story is a powerful reminder: in a world full of unpredictable weather and dangerous conditions, technology can be the difference between heartbreak and hope.