Katee Comes Home - Dog Missing For Five Months Found In Woods Near Holiday City

The last time anyone saw Katee the black Labrador, it was February. It was cold. There was snow on the ground.

Her owners, Gail and Jim Kraus - did all the right things. They had fliers made, contacted Lost Dogs Of Ocean County and hoped for the best. Gail walked the area near the power lines for weeks with a friend, looking for her dog. Nothing.

Five long months later, the Lost Dog Search and Rescue Group trapped Katee in the woods near Holiday City. She had survived her ordeal by camping out by a stream, following a herd of deer and eating what residents put out, according to the Lost Dogs in Ocean County Facebook page.

A couple named Jack and Marian had been feeding her for two weeks near their home on Red Hook Bay Road in Holiday City, but were unable to catch her. When a neighbor showed them the flier, Jack immediately called the number and spoke to Gail. He told her they had found her pup.

Gail - who was out-of-state - called the rescue group. It took them two hours to trap Katee. Katie bounded out of the trap, then immediately threw herself on the ground. She was in shock. They picked up Jim and took frightened Katee to the Toms River Animal Hospital.

Katee was loaded with ticks, which were removed and treated for an ear infection. The next morning, she was on her way to her Silver Ridge Park home in Berkeley Township.

Gail and Jim Krause had the entire group over for a thank-you dinner.

"You guys are the best!!," she wrote on Facebook. "I can honestly say I think Katee is the happiest dog around! Dinner is the least we could do,thank you just isn't enough! Much love to ALL of you!!Always keep your love and dedication to the animals.Hope each search ends with a rescue!!"

Story by Patricia A. Miller

All photo credits - Lost Dogs Of Ocean County