Local Woman's Quest to Catch 'Leo', Dog Missing for Nine Months

Nanette Martin of Wilderville says she and others spotted the dog all over town, but nobody else tried to catch him.  Still, catching Leo wasn't the only hard part of her mission.  It was convincing the owners, and even her own husband, that their long lost dog was alive and she was going to get him back home.

Nanette Martin, a woman who loves riding her motorcycle says, "I was on the hunt and I had a mission to find Leo."  And even though she's a biker, she might get used to the idea of being a bit of a pet detective.  Martin says, "I knew he needed to go home.  He was a lost dog.  I think he wanted to be caught."

That still doesn't mean Leo would make it easy for Martin.  Each time she spotted him from her car, what followed was always the same.  He would just take off.  Martin says, "He was a very evasive and smart dog."

Leo spent time sneaking into the trash at a local store and Martin decided to put out some food nearby as bait.  Faithful Leo ran off when she came too close.  But he proved to Martin it would take a trap to get him.

The trap worked, but after Martin adjusted it herself.  She says when the family was finally reunited with their dog, "He was wiggling all over the place, saying 'Hi, Momma!, Hi, Daddy!'  It was like a whole different dog!"

She adds, "It was my one good dead.  I got my one good deed of the year taken care of and out of the way."

Martin feels good about getting Leo back to his family and says she can hit the road again free of worry.  That is, unless another lost dog poster pops up along the way.

Leo was returned to his family from the Portland area after being gone for more than 9 months.  He was lost while his owners were on the Rogue River.  Leo was with a family friend.  They say it was hard to believe it was their dog Martin had found.  Leo had been gone so long they didn't think he would ever come back.