Missing Dog Found After Surviving Maine Subzero Temps and Broken Leg

Dog owners know their pup is more than a pet, they're a family member. One Maryland family received a late Christmas miracle after their dog went missing while on a holiday trip to Maine.

Jamie Cyrway along with her three children and dog Dempsey, a 1-year-old boxer, were visiting Jamie's mother, Janet Boothby, in North Anson, Maine for Christmas when Dempsey decided to hop the backyard fence, according to the Morning Sentinel.

Boothby, a teacher at Carrabec High School, drove around for hours looking for the dog while her daughter and grandchildren were at another Christmas celebration.

Dempsey was out in the cold for more than a week. Jamie received reports of sightings of her dog from neighbors over the next couple days. But it wasn't until 9 days later that Christine Pierce, a former student of Boothby and who's never met Jamie, found Dempsey in an abandoned warehouse.

Pierce saw posts about Dempsey on Facebook and made it her mission to find the dog.

After surviving subzero temperatures, snow, freezing rain as well as a broken leg -- Dempsey is currently recuperating at the Madison Animal Hospital.