The owner of "Hector," the seemingly homeless bearded dragon found by Lake Oswego police earlier this month, has stepped forward and is expected to retrieve the lizard Friday.



Ulli Neitch of the Oregon Humane Society in Portland said the owner called Lake Oswego dispatchers Thursday from Sun River and is making arrangements to get him.



"Hector" was picked up by Lake Oswego police on June 15 as he was sunning himself in the Public Golf Course parking lot.



"We're guessing that because he's in beautiful physical condition that someone was missing a beloved pet," said Ulli Neitch, the Humane Society's chief criminal investigator.

Bearded dragons, native to Australia, look fierce -- like a living, breathing prehistoric monster right out of "Jurassic World." But despite their appearance, the lizards are docile and become tame easily. They soon become accustomed to being handled and are calm around children.



Their so-called "beards" are actually the expandable undersides of their throats, which puff up and turn black when threatened or startled.



Community Service Officer Dan Phillips of Lake Oswego police got the call when Hector was spotted in the parking lot.



"When I was a kid growing up, I used to catch lizards, so I had some experience," Phillips said. "I just walked up behind him and picked him up."



Phillips then took Hector to Lake Oswego's 911 dispatch center - LOCOM. The dispatchers there named him Hector.



"I'm familiar with that type of Aussie lizard, so I took him home," Neitch said.