PORTLAND -- A couple from Alaska spent a long four days scouring Portland International Airport and nearby neighborhoods for their heeler dog, Bear, after he got away from airline workers during a layover.

After a stressful weekend without the dog she considers “like a child,” Janel Kosten was reunited with him early Monday morning. A concerned resident, who found Bear, first heard about the story Friday on KGW and knew a hunt was underway for the missing dog in the area.

Most pet owners would attest it's like a "worst nightmare" scenario. Bear was being transported in the cargo-hold of a Horizon jet Thursday when a worker opened the kennel and he escaped.

Airline personnel reported Bear ran across the busy south terminals after his kennel was opened on the tarmac during a stop at PDX en route to Medford.

The airline told her “(Bear) bolted and he’s gone -- sorry,” Janel said.

Without food and shelter he remained missing for days. Janel says she couldn’t sleep or eat, either, and that all she could think about was her missing loved one.

"(Thursday) night on foot we spent like four or five hours looking for him and (Friday) we rented a car and that's all we've done," she said.

Janel says she and Bear have been inseparable for nearly seven years.

Horizon Airlines personnel say the worker was probably acting in the dog’s interest when it opened the kennel, although the action did violate company policy.

"Our flight got delayed and one of the workers decided to open the kennel for some odd reason, to let my dog go to the bathroom, I guess," Janel said.

It was late at night, on an active tarmac, with planes taking off left and right, she said.

Jason Doogan, Kosten's boyfriend, says Bear was last seen running toward the Colwood Golf Course. They checked there Friday. They also checked the nearby National Guard base, a local post office, with no luck.

"I've had him since he was four and a half weeks old and he's six and a half years old now,” Doogan said.

The couple was beginning to lose hope after a weekend of fruitless searching. They realized eventually they’d have to leave.

Bear had made it all the way to Northeast Columbia Boulevard when he was spotted. A resident who had seen missing reports on KGW over the weekend was headed for work when he saw a loose dog that matched the photos and descriptions broadcast on KGW Newschannel 8. He called the newsroom, reporting the dog's location, and soon Bear was on his way back to Kosten and Doogan.

Everyone was reunited early Monday morning. Kosten and Doogan are having Bear checked out by a veterinarian to make sure he’s alright and will spend the rest of their two-week vacation with him and family in Medford.

KGW Reporter Scott Burton and NWCN Reporter Teresa Yuan contributed to this story.