A STRAY dog that won the hearts of Malmesbury has finally been caught after almost three weeks.

Blondie the lurcher, whose progress was updated regularly on social media and gripped the community, was finally caught on Friday, July 27, and is now waiting to be rehomed.

Sue first spotted Blondie on July 11, describing the dog as ‘painfully thin’ and ‘clearly terrified’.

As soon as Sue called Blondie, she bolted, so Sue took to Facebook where a small group offered to help including Nicola.

Nicola said: “Experts got in touch giving us advice on how to catch Blondie.

“They agreed that it should only be a couple of people who feed her to gain her trust.”

Taking advice on board, they stayed in a small group.

Sue said: “I would go every morning at 5.45am.

“I would shake some biscuits and Blondie would appear waiting for me to put the food down at a distance before eating and disappearing.

“It wasn’t always regular, but she did always appear.”

After numerous scares, Blondie’s trust in Sue and Nicola started to build.

First she started to eat out of their hand, before starting to lie down near them after eating.

On July 27, after four long hours, Blondie was caught.

Sue added: “We both cried, it was very emotional and an overwhelming moment.

“It was a real team effort and there were a lot of people who were involved who helped massively.”

Blondie was taken to a dog warden before being placed at Bath Cats and Dogs Home where she is now up for rehoming under her new name Martha.

Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard:

Due to a policy, Martha cannot be rehomed in the Malmesbury area, but Sue and Nicola will be informed by the centre when she gets rehomed.

For details on how to adopt, go to bcdh.org.uk/adopt