THE delighted owner of the Portuguese mountain dog nicknamed Dora The Explorer, can't wait to be reunited with her this weekend.
Steve Hulme will be reunited with Dora, who has spent nearly six months in the wild, living along the Lincolnshire coast between Donna Nook and Cleethorpes.
We first brought her to the attention of readers in February when a reader contacted us.
He had spotted her at Donna Nook and thought she may have been a big cat.
But, after seeing the pictures published in the Grimsby Telegraph, Mr Hulme came forward, believing the animal was his dog, which had been missing since before Christmas.
Since then, the Portuguese Estrela mountain dog has been spotted several times, but is a breed difficult to capture.
However, she was safely brought in on Tuesday and is now recovering at a rehabilitation centre in Birmingham.
Mr Hulme, of Marton, near Gainsborough, told the Telegraph: "I am looking forward to going to see her at the weekend. She is in a rehabilitation centre after being captured. I am really pleased."
Alison Hall of volunteer group Dog Lost said: "It has been quite a journey. She went missing near Gainsborough on November 10 and turned up on the Lincolnshire coast.
"Being a mountain dog she is trained to survive. They are trained to guard sheep. She will have fed on rabbits in the wild.
"I was not concerned about her being able to survive. The main worry was a farmer shooting her or her being run over."
She told how residents at Cleethorpes' Thorpe Park left food out for Dora and a fellow volunteer kept a daily track of the dog.
Alison added: "She was such a nervous dog. The more people around, the worse she would be. We had to take it slowly.
"We are really pleased she has been caught and can be reunited with her owner."
Expert dog catcher Ray Dedicoat, from Birmingham, set out a trap using stewed lamb as bait.
A cage was left out for several days and nights in Humberston until Dora was comfortable entering it for food.
After a few occasions the cage door was locked and Dora was caught.
The volunteer will be staging a skydive next month in aid of the group.
Donors can support the Dog Lost group by visiting their website www.doglost.co.uk
ON THE WEB: Read previous coverage of Dora's escapades at www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk
