Jax, the boxer mix who escaped into the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge on Bonnet Island after a June 24 car accident, is far from the first or last dog to flee. Most have less of a traumatic reason to run than Jax did, but many go into an instinctual survival mode that complicates efforts to retrieve them.

Across America, the National Humane Society estimates that a family pet goes missing every two seconds. Holidays with fireworks are especially stressful.