In a touching turnout, community members pooled in their resources to help find Desi, a three-year-old Staffy and furry southside resident who had been missing for more than a week.
"It's just blown me away. It makes me cry, I've been doing a lot of that, trust me," owner Jacqui Stenhouse said.
Ms Stenhouse was out of town when her "baby" got spooked during last Thursday's thunderstorm and tragically ran away.
Since then, she had reached out to drone operators for their help. She said she was effectively trying to find a needle in a haystack.
One gentleman with a drone camera spent four hours with her on Thursday looking for Desi. Ms Stenhouse was moved when he charged her nothing for it. She said he offered to return on Sunday to resume the search.
Ms Stenhouse also availed the services of a pet psychic (yes, they exist).
Using Google Maps, a picture of Desi, and Ms Stenhouse's address, the psychic said the dog was alive and in the Urambi Hills area near an old wooden shed or structure.
Meanwhile, a real estate agent assisted Ms Stenhouse in the search by printing posters and putting them up in shopping centres.
ACT Parks and Conservation rangers also assured Ms Stenhouse they would keep an eye out for Desi on their drives.
The dog mum has posted on Facebook requesting people in Tuggeranong to keep an eye out for her timid girl.
Desi was sighted multiple times around Lake Tuggeranong where Ms Stenhouse took her for walks each morning.
"I've been spending pretty much 12 hours a day, I have taken the week off work. So I just do this all day and then go home and do my job at night time. I'm exhausted," Ms Stenhouse said.
She said her boss had been cooking her meals and dropping them off, while others in the community showed up with cakes before helping her look for Desi.
"I can't believe how wonderful they've been, it's been phenomenal," Ms Stenhouse said.
Desi was finally found with some bruising and cuts about 1pm on Friday.
Ms Stenhouse only found out she was missing when Desi got hit by a car and the driver's mother called Jacqui to tell her she was injured. The mother and son then tried to approach Desi but she was too frightened.
She wanted to say "a massive thank you" to everyone who had helped her in this week.
"How appreciative I am that so many people from the community have come together," she said.
