For weeks, Luna, a 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier mix, has been a blur around Yellowstone National Park.
She dashed out of the cabin where her family was staying Sept. 10 after “a tragic mistake” while the owners were out with a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door, according to the group called in to find her.
Since then, park staffers and visitors had reported sightings, including in lodges and restaurants.
But Luna was fast, and would “not allow anyone to approach her,” wrote Norris Ark Training & Recovery Center, the Montana-based nonprofit that has provided multiple updates on the search, on Facebook.
On Wednesday, there was another update: “WE GOT HER!!! Luna is safe.”
Katie Boucher, Norris Ark’s president, wrote in a message that Luna had lost about 10 pounds but was otherwise in relatively good health.
“She had words for her human!” Boucher wrote.
The group had said that it could not use food to try to lure Luna because it could attract predators; instead, they used a live trap baited with the dog’s own scent and that of her family. Norris Ark warned in recent days that time was running out because it would need to remove equipment when its permit expired on Oct. 31. Luna was found in the park’s Canyon Village area, near the wastewater treatment plant zone, Boucher said.
“Park rangers worked with the owners and an outside organization to recover the dog and are glad she was successfully captured and is alive and well,” park spokesperson Linda Veress said in an email.
In an email, Boucher said she wanted to urge Yellowstone visitors to leave their pets at home.
“It is a very dangerous place, escapes happen often, and it is very hard to get them back if they aren’t recovered within a few hours,” she wrote.