By Carla Allen

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com



It was cold, dark and wet, but Josee Poulin couldn’t have been happier. She knelt down in a puddle, spread open the cage and cuddled with the dog she and her partner Mike Harding had been searching seven months for.

“It didn’t look like her, she was so tiny,” said Poulin.

The three-year old Shetland sheepdog Lady-Belle escaped from a dog-sitter July 29 weighing 30 pounds. She is now down to 18.

When she disappeared, the couple stapled posters in the community, created a facebook page (Lady-Belle lost), notified the SPCA and veterinarians, placed ads in local newspapers, searched for hours and followed up reported sightings.

Poulin even contacted Maggie Carruthers, an animal communicator in Halifax, and sent her a picture of Lady-Belle.

“She pinpointed her in Arcadia on a certain road. The things she was describing – stumps where some trees had been cut and buildings – it was like she could see through Lady-Belle’s eyes,” said Poulin.

Three weeks ago Carruthers contacted Poulin saying she had a vision of Lady-Belle and sent her a map telling her that the dog was between the golf course and the Wyman Road.

Poulin went there and called the dog with no luck, but shortly after the phone calls began.

“People on Wyman Road began calling me telling me ‘we saw your dog’,” said Poulin,

The Yarmouth SPCA got involved.

“They offered to come in right away with a live trap. They came down and set it up and put bait in it behind Duke and Donna Greene’s house,” said Vacon.

After a week of trying, last night Lady-Belle took the bait and the trap tripped shut.

“It was like we won the lottery,” said Harding.

“We got her home here and opened the cage. She was excited; she was so happy. She remembered all her old tricks,” said Poulin.

The dog received a clean bill of health from the vet this morning. He cautioned them against overfeeding her, saying slow weight gain is best.