Hit By Cars And Stranded By A Rising River, Bear Somehow Made It Home

PLAINFIELD, IL — A missing golden retriever who captured the Plainfield community’s heart as his family desperately searched for him for days is home safe after a harrowing rescue from a flooded river, his owner told Patch.

McKinley Sochacki said that local small business owners stepped up when her dog ran away, sharing flyers and aiding in the search for her beloved 4-year-old Bear. But in the end, it was her father, firefighter and carpenter Eric Underwood, who jumped into the DuPage River to bring Bear to safety.

“Bear would not have made it without my dad,” Sochacki said.

Bear went missing around 7:30 p.m. Thursday after a person came up behind the dog and tried to pet him outside the family’s downtown Plainfield home, spooking Bear, who ran into Lockport Street, was hit by a car, and kept running, according to Sochacki.

“Because it happened so fast, I couldn’t catch him,” she said. “He was like lightning.”

A rescue dog who suffered abuse before being fostered and eventually adopted by Sochacki, Bear is skittish after his “very, very traumatic past,” she said.

The Search For Bear

Sochacki and her husband, Sebastian Sochacki, went after the dog and were told by a bystander that he had been hit by a second car but had kept running. The couple searched until the early morning hours on Friday, aided by family and Good Samaritans.

“Immediately, since Bear was lost, we had the community involved,” she said.

The next day, dozens helped look for the dog, thanks in part to McKinley’s mother, Kelly Underwood, who owns Safe Harbor CPR & First Aid Training and who used her business contacts to spread the word that Bear was missing.

“He became famous overnight,” McKinley said.

Multiple drone operators spotted Bear and the family hired trappers, but the dog remained on the loose through most of the weekend, as thunderstorms rolled through the area and people came from neighboring towns to help search.

Saved From A Rising River

Bear was eventually found Sunday afternoon, when Eric heard barking in the distance and discovered Bear had crossed the rising DuPage River and was caught on a branch, cut off from the other side.

“The river was rising so fast — like, any animal would have drowned in that,” McKinley said.

Eric jumped in and swam to Bear, who was brought to safety by McKinley’s father, brother and brother-in-law. Despite being covered in burs and ticks, and suffering a fever, infections and other issues, he is expected to recover.

“We’re just so happy he’s home,” she said, adding that the first person he lay down next to was her father.