Marcellus (WSYR-TV) -- A dog missing for more than seven months has been found, safe and sound.
“Teddy,” a three-year-old Shetland sheepdog, slipped out of his collar and took off into Marcellus farmland after being spooked by fireworks on the Fourth of July last year.
But luckily for Teddy, he didn’t have your average search party. Forensic experts helped the family search for Teddy for at least 15 hours each week.
“We just called in some forensic reconnaissance whenever we’d take some time off and look for Teddy,” said forensic expert, Jennifer Clark. “We set up the traps for him we had an infrared camera set up so we could see if he came to the traps.”
Teddy was spotted seven months later a few miles away on the property of another animal expert, the director of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Ted Fox.
“I looked out the field on my property and there was the dog. It was eating scraps. A coyote had killed a deer in the middle of the field and it was eating that,” Fox said.
The family set up a special trap on the zoo owner's property and he refilled it with food every day for a month. On Saturday morning, Teddy was found lying inside.
“When you see this dog, he's pretty small. And to know he was smart enough to find cover somewhere safe at night when other animals were out is remarkable,” Fox continued.
Fox suggests the mild winter helped him survive and says he's perfectly healthy. And now, Teddy’s ready to go home to his owner.
Thomas Sawyer' s mother owns Teddy. He said, "I know she's going to be absolutely thrilled. She's going to be delighted. She's 85 this morning and Teddy is her companion, so this is kind of a big deal for her."
Teddy is also a rescue dog. He was born at a puppy mill near Rochester. The family will take extra care to give Teddy the peaceful life he deserves.
