It took 5 months. In that time, volunteers with the rescue networked, searched, fed, worried, fundraised,  planned, worried some more, and eventually captured Norman. There were innumerable obstacles with rain and cold weather, predators who stalked the woods at night, varmints who stole food all hours of the day, hunters and their dogs during deer season, and the powerline company and cable company who drove huge trucks and four-wheelers through Norman’s safe spaces. There was the locale itself. The upper north-eastern part of North Carolina is sparsely populated with people but has dense miles and miles of woods and swamp. We eventually pinpointed Norman in a five mile area. Then there was Norman himself. He would disappear from our feeding and trapping area for days at a time, and all we could do was fret and wait to see him again. The relief we felt when he would show up on camera alive was intense. We constantly altered our approach to getting him, but we didn’t quit. And one day, when we were not expecting it, all our plans went out the window. Quick thinking, quick feet, and a dropped net brought our ordeal, and Norman’s, to an end.

We thought he would be in terrible health. He wasn’t. We thought he would be a nervous wreck who would be afraid of, well, everything.  He wasn’t. We thought he would be a flight risk who would always have to be watched. He isn’t. Norman’s re-introduction to being a spoiled dog has been fairly seamless. After only a week of decompression, Norman was re-united with a familiar face, his CBR foster mom. He will never have to leave her again. Now she is just Mom. The best part is that he now also has a doggie brother, whom he bonded with immediately.

160 days and a happy ending. Time and money well spent. It just doesn’t get any better than this. Welcome home, Norman.

A special thanks to Lynnette Steffee and Beth Wilson for their tireless work to capture Norman.