CORVALLIS – Social media can be a real jungle at times. But a lot of good can come from the world of Twitter and Facebook, too.

Trevor Abell has his dog back thanks to former Oregon State kicker Alexis Serna, his wife Julie and persistence on social media.

Without social media, it’s unlikely there would have been a reunion between Abell and Timber, his 2-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer female. Abell lives on Grand Island near Dayton. The dog? She was wandering along the side of Independence Hwy. near Albany, some 45 miles from Abell’s home, when Julie Serna opened her car door and Timber hopped in.

“There is no way, I’m thinking,” Abell said. “This whole social media thing is pretty amazing.”

Abell and Serna, now OSU’s Director of Beyond Football, have never met until Tuesday, but they could have. Abell, who graduated from Oregon State in 2007, was a practice player for Oregon State men’s basketball for a few years. Serna kicked for the Beavers from 2004-07.

Timber and her brother Trax often roam the countryside as farm dogs tend to do. Last Friday night, they left the Abells home around 6 p.m. They often swim in the nearby Willamette River, but until last week, always found their way home.

Trax showed up at the front door Saturday morning caked in mud. Abell was halfway relieved, but there was no sign of Timber. Given rising, swift-moving waters of late, Abell began to fear the worst – that perhaps Timber had been swept down the river – but hoped for a happy ending.

Abell put out a plea for the lost dog on Facebook. But a few days went by, with no response. Abell said Trax was moping around the house, not to mention his family that includes six foster children.

“Not to see her laying in her bunk bed is a sad deal,” Abell said.

It turns out Timber swam across the Willamette River and worked her way over to Highway 219, somewhere between St. Paul and Woodburn. A man found Timber and took her to his home near Albany, hoping he’d somehow find the owner.

But Timber, a bird hunting dog, was a curious sort. Monday morning, she left the man’s house and began to roam again, this time along Independence Hwy. Julie Serna was on her way to work, with fog shrouding the road, when she spotted the dog. Fearing the dog would get hit, Serna stopped in the middle of the road, opened her door for Timber.

Julie then called Alexis Serna, who was driving their son to school. The dog wasn’t chipped and didn’t have an ID tag. With the help of a co-worker, the Sernas went to work. They put out Facebook posts on several lost dog pages, as well as calls to many local farmers and dog breeders.

That’s when Sernas heard about the man who initially had the dog. When they found out where he originally picked up the dog, Serna then placed posts on lost dog pages in Salem and Woodburn, as well as a few pleas on Twitter.

My wife picked up this dog that was walking in the middle of Independence Highway between Metge and Pettibone. It’s not chipped, we’ve reported it found and posted it on other social media. Please retweet to find its owner! Or better yet, message me if you know the owner! pic.twitter.com/DMEE5aztEB — Alexis Serna (@KickingBeav13) September 24, 2019

Serna woke up Tuesday morning and found a direct Twitter message from Abell: Hey, that’s my dog. Serna found out the dog’s name, called her Timber, and the dog came running. Abell then sent a picture to confirm the dog’s identity.

A few hours later, they met in Monmouth, where Abell retrieved his dog.

Abell asked Serna what he owed him, and Serna just waved him off. Told he missed an opportunity to sell a former Beaver on making a donation, Serna laughed and said he should have sold him football season tickets or something.

Turns out Abell had been a long-time OSU football season ticket holder up until this season. There’s not much time on fall Saturdays, as his boys are now involved in football.

“It was just good to help someone and be a Good Samaritan,” Serna said.

--Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel

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