'Miracle' Greyhound Rescued In La Vergne After 5 Years On The Lam

LA VERGNE, TN — In March 2012, retired racing greyhound Cassie was brought to Tennessee and delivered to a foster home. But anyone whose been around greyhounds knows two things about the sleek breed: they are fast and they can be a touch skittish.

Within 12 hours of being placed with her foster family in Smyrna, Cassie bolted. For months, people searched for Cassie to no avail.

About 10 miles up the road in La Vergne, lives a woman named Tonya Cook. She didn't know Cassie was missing, but she did know a brindle greyhound started to come up to her fence every night starting in 2014. She could never convince the pooch to come inside the fence and she could never catch her, so she left blankets and food for her whenever she'd see her.

Research led Tonya to Music City Greyhound Adoption, who she called and told about this mysterious stray greyhound. Fortunately, MCGA had just acquired a special trap designed to catch the elusive and speedy breed. On February 10, they set the trap behind Cook's home.

They caught a cat.

On Saturday, they reset the trap. On Sunday, the bowl of food had been snatched so quickly the mechanism didn't spring the trap. They tried again — bolting the food bowl to the cage, putting a sweater inside. And Monday, Cook called and said the dog was inside.

And, yes, it was Cassie — confirmed by an ear tattoo she was given during her time as a racer. She survived five years as a stray in the woods of Rutherford County, relying on Cook when she could and, according to MCGA, likely catching rabbits, squirrels and other small game while living in the woods.

MCGA has set up a GoFundMe page to help with her vet bills, which has raised more than $2,000 in a little more than two days. She has a pretty serious case of heartworms, which will likely require months of treatment and a handful of shots. She has elevated blood count, showing some kind of infection, but she has been bathed and dewormed.

And she has a sweet disposition, accepting hugs and pets, despite her time living rough.

"Greyhounds are not built to live out in the elements," MCGA's Mary McCormick told Patch. "They are good hunters so getting something to eat probably wouldn't been too hard. It's surviving the cold winters and hot summers that we are totally shocked she survived."

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Image via GoFundMe