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