Dog Lost During California Wildfire Reunites With Family 101 Days Later

12-year-old Kingston jumped out of the truck as his family was fleeing the Camp Fire.
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PARADISE, Calif. (AP) — A dog named Kingston is back with his family 101 days after he jumped out of their truck as they fled a devastating Northern California wildfire.

The 12-year-old Akita was reunited Monday with the Ballejos family, who fled the town of Paradise late last year, Sacramento television station KXTV reported.

“When I found out, [it] just about brought me to tears,” said Gabriel Ballejos, Kingston’s owner. “I’m so proud of him. I can’t believe it. He’s a true survivor, and it’s a testament to the American spirit.”

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Maleah Ballejos, reunited with her dog, Kingston, in Paradise, California, on Feb. 18.
Ben Lepe via AP

Ballejos said they never lost hope and kept posting flyers and contacting shelters.

“Every night I would ask my dad and tell him that we needed to go look for him,” said Ballejos’ daughter, Maleah.

The family got a call after animal rescue volunteer Ben Lepe trapped Kingston on Sunday and took him to Friends of Camp Fire Cats, a local rescue group. The volunteers saw a missing dog message on Facebook and contacted the family.

Lepe said the large dog had been spotted on surveillance cameras and that he set up a trap big enough for it on Saturday.

“When I went to check it on Sunday, there he was,” Lepe said. “It was awesome to see him and know he would be fed and warm.”

Family members believe Kingston survived by eating skunks, because he hunted them before the fire and smelled of skunk when they picked him up.

The town of Paradise was leveled by a Nov. 8 blaze that killed 85 people and destroyed nearly 15,000 homes in the area.

Angel Herrera, of Friends of Camp Fire Cats, said the group has rescued more than 200 lost pets since the fire and still sets traps.

“If we had the resources, we could trap 50 animals every single night,” she said.

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Information from: KXTV-TV.

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Before You Go

Animals of the Northern California Wildfires
(01 of06)
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LOWER LAKE, CA - JULY 31: Goats run away from their pen after firefighters freed them as the Rocky Fire approaches on July 31, 2015 in Lower Lake, California. Over 900 firefighters are battling the Rocky Fire that erupted to over 15,000 acres since it started on Wednesday afternoon. The fire is currently five percent contained and has destroyed 3 homes. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (credit:Justin Sullivan via Getty Images)
(02 of06)
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Jill Vierra kisses her granddaughter Kaliana Reymundo, age 2, while holding her only surviving dog Zeus from an evacuation center in Calistoga, California on September 14, 2015. Vierra lost 4 dogs, 2 cats and a bird in the Valley fire when it overtook her home. AFP PHOTO/JOSH EDELSON (Photo credit should read Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JOSH EDELSON via Getty Images)
(03 of06)
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A partridge is seen on a burnt field a day after a wildfire in Cualedro, near Ourense on August 31, 2015. A fire broke out on August 30, 2015 around noon in the Cualedro town in Galicia, northwest Spain, affecting at least 3,000 hectares of forest, as seven fires continued to burn in Spain, three in Galicia, one in Cantabria, one in Castile and Leon, one in Catalonia and Extremadura. AFP PHOTO/ PEDRO ARMESTRE (Photo credit should read PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PEDRO ARMESTRE via Getty Images)
(04 of06)
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A smoke plume from the Wragg fire billows behind a cow near Winters, California on July 23, 2015. The fire has grown to over 6,000 acres and is 15 percent contained. AFP PHOTO/JOSH EDELSON AFP PHOTO/JOSH EDELSON (Photo credit should read Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JOSH EDELSON via Getty Images)
(05 of06)
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MIDDLETOWN, CA - SEPTEMBER 14: Emus wander down a road in an evacuated area at the edge of the Valley Fire on September 14, 2015 in Middletown, California. The 95-square-mile fire has destroyed hundreds of homes and is only five percent contained. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) (credit:David McNew via Getty Images)
(06 of06)
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MIDDLETOWN, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Chandra Woodhouse feeds her goats that survived, though her house burned in the Valley Fire on September 15, 2015 in Middletown, California. The 104-square-mile fire destroyed 585 homes and hundreds of other structures. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) (credit:David McNew via Getty Images)