It was supposed be the trip of a lifetime into outback Queensland for this Sydney family.
But while Deborah and Geoff Inskip were visiting a tourist attraction in Winton, their beloved boxer, Maggie, who was being cared for, detached from her collar, and ran off.
In a harsh landscape home to wild dogs, 1080 baiting and deadly snakes, the risks to a lost dog are high.
"She ran off down to a creek," Ms Inskip says.
"With the recent rain we were sinking knee deep into mud, it was so difficult to find her.
"I gave up hope that she had got out of that creek.
"I didn't really sleep, eat, I couldn't really function in the first few days."
'We cannot go home without her'
But then calls from the local community with reported sightings of Maggie and footprints came in.
For days, sightings by the Winton community, population 1,000, kept hope alive.
The couple planted scented clothing around the area, set up cameras borrowed from local police, and laid flour on the ground in the hope of uncovering tracks.
The pair now joke of how they almost ran out of clothes trying to attract their dog back.
Family members dashed 2,000 kilometres from Sydney with their dog, Duchess, hoping her familiar scent would help.
A Facebook page was set up to assist with tip-offs and expert support.
"We cannot go home without her," the Inskip family wrote on social media.
Reunited at last
The couple were prepared to stay in Winton searching until at least the end of the month.
But on day eight, dog prints were spotted near the town's airport.
A few hours later, Maggie was seen near the airstrip.
The couple rushed there and waited quietly until they saw the ears of their beloved boxer moving towards them.
"It was just pure elation, I just couldn't believe we had her," Ms Inskip says.
"I was awake all night again, I just couldn't sleep."
As the family begin their journey back home, Maggie is eating every two hours to assist her recovery.
They say the small outback Winton community was integral to the happy ending.
"We are lucky that we are leaving with Maggie and that it totally attributable to the support and assistance we received," Ms Inskip says.
"Winton is a town that is big enough to have the services that we required yet still small enough to care."
