When 2 dogs went missing in a life-threatening Virginia car crash, a volunteer spent weeks tracking them down

Christine Quaiff is a hunter of sorts, often going deep into the woods around Richmond, Virginia, to track and trap family members.

“When someone loses their dog, that’s their child,” Quaiff told CBS News.

Quaiff has found dozens of lost dogs over the last few years. She’s part of a growing national network of lost pet recovery specialists who offer this service, often for free. 

“It’s about being kind to other people and doing what you wish people would do for you,” Quaiff said.

Her most recent case was a desperate search for two Goldendoodles, Bailee and Tobey, who belonged to 66-year-old Annie Olup.

Olup lost her husband in August 2024, and caring for those dogs had become her purpose.

“I thought, I’m going to go back to this house and it’s just going to feel so empty,” Olup said of her husband’s death.

In September, Olup got in a car accident. She was driving in heavy rain when she hit a guardrail, flipped her car and almost died. Her dogs were also in the car. They survived but went missing.

“Dogs typically are going to just run away as quick as possible from the commotion and look for quietness,” Quaiff said.

Quaiff used drones and trail cameras to narrow the search. Then she set traps, changed the food twice a day and agreed to stay on the case indefinitely. This was all in addition to her day job as a senior technical account manager in software development.

Quaiff was constantly checking cameras and even sleeping in her car in the search area.

“The joy of seeing them be reunited is ultimately what makes us keep going,” Quaiff said.

In the end, it took 10 days for Quaiff to find Tobey and 16 days to find Bailee.

And it took no time at all for the tears to flow once Olup saw her babies were back. The three are now home together again thanks to a stranger who believes it takes a village to raise a child — even the furry ones.