When Madera, a completely blind Labrador retriever, didn’t return home one day, her owner was convinced he would never see her again. Apart from the fact that the 11-year-old dog can’t see a thing, Madera disappeared during one of the coldest days of February when the temperaures were around 40 degrees below zero. Oh, and we forgot to mention that Madera lives with her family in Alaska.

Despite the scary beginning of the story, all’s well that ends well: the lucky pooch has been returned to her worried owner Ed Davis, according to Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Davis told them that Madera always comes back home after going to the doggy bathroom, except for this time when she wandered away in the nearby woods.

Due to the harsh weather conditions, Davis was not very hopeful that he would find his dog alive. Here’s what he said:

“My best hope was to walk those trails and look for a track that might be hers. My best hope was to find a frozen dog.”

Fortunately, a man riding a bike stumbled upon the lost dog in the woods, half a mile from Madera’s home. Constantine Khrulev, the man who rescued her, heard a whine in the woods and found the frightened dog.

After brining her back home, Khrulev asked Davis to give the $100 reward money to Fairbanks Animal Shelter Fund. Davis, both thankful for being reunited with his dog and impressed by the gesture, donated $250 to the shelter.

Despite all odds, this is not the only time a lost dog was returned to their owner in Fairbanks in recent years. Another blind dog named Abby was also rescued in 2012 after walking more than 10 miles from her home in the Two River area.