Advertisement Oak Creek man, dog reunited after Rottweiler went missing for week Hooch ran away on New Year's Eve Share Shares Copy Link Copy

An Oak Creek man is reunited with his dog one week after it went missing in the frigid temperatures."It is a miracle he survived," owner Joe Bellehumeur said.Bellehumeur is elated to have his 6-year-old Rottweiler, Hooch, back in his life after the dog went missing on New Year's Eve.VIDEO: Dog reunited with owner after week in bitter cold"I was starting to write him off. Come on, it was the worst days money could buy," Bellehumeur said.The dog took off from his brother's house in South Milwaukee."This little guy can run, and he couldn't catch him," Bellehumeur said.Hooch was out in the cold for seven days before he was spotted under a bridge over a creek Tuesday morning by Oak Creek utility service worker Ryan Maughan."As I came down, it barked at me, and it was very startling because you don't come across that," Maughan said.Maughan said he went back to his truck to call his office and let them know what he had discovered.His co-workers found a post on Lost Dogs of Wisconsin."They had it on Facebook, and they found the dog's name was Hooch, and so I'm calling it and trying to coax it out, and it wouldn't come anywhere near me," Maughan said.Maughan said it was when Bellehumeur showed up and walked down to the edge that Hooch recognized his owner and walked across the ice, but only halfway. Bellehumeur actually had to walk down there and grab him."I couldn't help it, I just started busting out crying, you know?" Bellehumeur said.Hooch did suffer minor frostbite on his paws and upper lip and went from weighing 150 pounds to 115 pounds."He couldn't get up because the snow was so deep, so I actually had to pick him up and carry him, and that's when I noticed, 'Hey, you're getting lighter here puppy,'" Bellehumeur said.But with a little love and a lot of sleep, Hooch is expected to completely recover."Life is complete again," Bellehumeur said.Hooch's owner said the dog now has a microchip in case he gets the urge to take off again.