A dog spotted wandering loose in the woods in the Calais, Maine, area was found to have escaped from a home 50 miles away six months earlier. Photo courtesy of Maine Lost Dog Recovery

April 27 (UPI) -- A dog spotted on the loose in Maine was captured and identified as a family pet that went missing six months earlier from a home 50 miles away.

Dave Townsend, an animal control officer in Calais, said volunteers with Maine Lost Dog Recovery helped him set traps and track the movements of the loose dog spotted wandering in the woods recently in the Calais area.


The canine was successfully caught in a trap late last week and the 90-pound Great Pyrenees was identified as Nellie, a dog reported missing six months earlier in Addison, about 50 miles from where the dog was captured.

Townsend said he believes Nellie had wandered 50 miles through the woods on her own with scant food sources for months.

Maine Lost Dog Recovery said Nellie was reunited with her owners.