Courtesy Photo Tyson, a dog who was separated from his owner for months, rests at home after Rogers City women came to his rescue.

ROGERS CITY — The tale of a dog and the people who wanted to save him ended Wednesday night with celebration and tears as Tyson was reunited with his owner after months of worry, work, and cooked sausage.

Tyson, a mixed breed escape artist, has been a dog on the run for the past six months. He first went missing in July, only six days after his new owners, Marsha and Steve Skop, of Gaylord, fostered him out of Otsego Animal Shelter. A simple dropped leash was all that was needed before he was off and away on his adventure.

Sightings around Otsego County stopped in early September. Although she tried to stay hopeful, Marsha Skop began to wonder if she would ever hear of him again. When Tyson was finally spotted again, he had traveled 70 miles to Presque Isle County, ending up in Rogers City.

Marie Mulka, owner of Kortman’s Restaurant in Rogers City, first saw Tyson in Rogers City in early November. A small group of caring women from the area, identifying Tyson from photos Skop had posted on social media, determined to find a way to get the people-shy dog back home. Since then, Mulka and her friend, Nancy Tulgestka, have been devising ways to entice Tyson to safety.

Employees at Kortman’s have been feeding the dog for the past few months, putting out scraps from the kitchen. When there weren’t enough leftovers available, Mulka would fry up Plath’s bacon and sausage for Tyson.

The food from the restaurant was set out in plastic bowls from the dollar store, but “the little thief would steal our bowls,” Mulka said. Residents reported sightings of the bowls all around town.

Skop, though eager to be reunited with the dog, was not involved much in his care during his time in Rogers City. Experts had recommended that she stay away because dogs in survival mode can sometimes be confused by a scent from their past and flee. She waited from a distance as the Rogers City rescuers devised a plan to trap the dog.

Mulka worked with trapper agencies to learn how to catch the dog safely. Tyson is smart, Mulka said, and wouldn’t fall for a simple spring-release trap. Mulka’s husband built a specialized “missy” trap, designed specifically to capture shy and skittish dogs, using a laser-beam trigger and a live camera to monitor the dog’s actions.

The trap was set up near a top-secret location where the dog’s food had been placed for him.

“We led him across the street with sausage links,” Mulka reported.

At long last, the wary dog was caught on camera sniffing around in the unarmed trap. Decided that it was time to make a big move, Skop drove to Rogers City on Wednesday and she and Mulka huddled in a motel room, watching a live feed of the trail camera, waiting. At last, at 11:46 p.m., the door slammed shut behind Tyson’s tail and he was captured.

“He was such a gentleman,” Mulka said, recounting how the women talked to him in soothing tones, both of them in tears. Tyson calmly looked each of the humans surrounding him the eyes.

“When he looked at me he did a double take,” Skop said. “He came over and put his wet nose on my hand. It was like, ‘Oh, I know you. I remember you.'”

The dog, a slip-leash firmly around his neck, hopped into Skop’s SUV, and turned around and lay down.

Tyson spent his first day back at home mostly sleeping on the couch, Skop said. She is considering purchasing a special collar with a GPS chip for her flight-risk canine, but she is hopeful that he will be be happy to stay at home with his human parents and two new dog brothers.

After their months of efforts, the Rogers City searchers are going to miss their canine friend and his elusive ways.

Mulka is happy he’s home and warm, but, “we fell in love with him,” she said. Several members of his rescue team plan to go visit him in Gaylord in a week, and Skop promised to bring Tyson back to Rogers City for visits.

Tyson’s saga began in Genesee County, where he was surrendered to the animal shelter by an owner who was scrupulous in her care of him, based on veterinarian records. After escaping from a shelter in Crawford County, the dog was caught 25 miles north in Otsego County, thin and fighting medical issues.

“He ran from one end of our county to another,” reported Meilssa FitzGerald, director of the Otsego County Animal Shelter. It took a month’s efforts for FitzGerald to trap the dog.

Tyson is a polite dog, FitzGerald said, but “he didn’t really want to talk to you.”

The shelter’s staff suspect that he is still yearning for his first owner, and that his escapades are his attempts to find her.

At the Otsego shelter, he would spend hours sitting quietly, looking out a window.

Skop got to know Tyson during his Otsego stay, visiting him several times a week while the staff worked to restore his health and earn his trust. She would bring him treats, usually a cheeseburger.

“He wouldn’t look at me, but he would take my cheeseburger,” Skop laughed.

When Tyson didn’t seem to be bonding with anyone, the shelter decided to send him home with the Skops.

A special education preschool teacher, Skop feels at home with Tyson’s emotional challenges.

“A dog like this is right up my alley. I can see the potential in there,” Skop said, speaking of the strategies she plans to use to bond with the dog and help him feel safe.

FitzGerald is hopeful that Marsha and Steve will be the people Tyson needs to reconnect with humans. They are the perfect couple for that job, FitzGerald said, and have the patience they will need to win over a dog who doesn’t know who he can trust.

“They’re willing to wait,” FitzGerald said.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com.