The hills of Victoria have been known to carry their mysteries over the years, from black panther sightings to bushrangers.
And while it isn't a black panther, a 10-month search of the hills of Kilmore, 65 kilometres north of Melbourne, has captured the hearts of the town's residents.
When "Brambles", believed to be a Staffordshire terrier x bull terrier dog, was brought to his new home in May from the Lost Dogs Home, he ran into the wilderness.
Residents at once headed into the bush to find him.
There were multiple sightings over the following months, but being too afraid and too fast Brambles continued to evade his wannabe rescuers.
Friend or foe
Traps were laid, posters plastered around town and food set out. But still, Brambles roamed the mountains.
Enraptured with the mystery of Brambles and wanting to help him, Kilmore resident Tamika Curran and her two children set out to hiking for two kilometres a day to feed him.
"No-one could get anywhere near him. Everyone in Kilmore knew who he was," she told ABC Central Victoria Breakfast's Fiona Parker.
"We borrowed a trap and set that up. He went in the first night but he's a big dog and quite long, so he reached in and left his back legs out of the trap so when the door came down, he was able to back himself out of it.
"That was that. He was aware a trap was a trap, and he was never going to get in one again."
But there was debate about whether this staffy was friend or foe.
After some time without a sighting, a bloody sheep massacre was reported nearby. In response, Brambles' face was plastered over social media with a $1,000 reward on his head.
Bounty on Brambles' head
A group of farmers set out to shoot Brambles after the sheep killings, but didn't succeed. Wildlife cameras soon after captured him as skin and bone on a property nearby.
"Someone spotted him on a property in Kilmore East," Ms Curran said.
"On the second night, we got footage of him eating food I had left up there. He was dragging his feet and his tail was between his legs.
"We saw him sharing food with a ringtail possum and an echidna, so clearly this boy is a gentle soul."
Eventually, veterinarians joined the call and after unsuccessfully trying to dart Brambles 12 times, and multiple nights of camping along with a throng of Kilmore residents, rescuers realised that capturing the runaway was unlikely.
His undoing came when one day, vets drugged the food that Ms Curran had put out. It was that night, after 10 months on the run that Brambles was captured.
New life for Brambles
The owners transferred Brambles into Tamika's name.
A search history of Bramble's previous owners showed they gave him up for adoption at two and a half years old as he was an anxious dog and terrified of males.
Brambles now sleeps in the children's beds every night.
"When we come home, he's like an excited puppy. He's doing really, really well. We're going to get some training for him to hopefully deal with some of his anxiety," she said.
"It wasn't my intention ever to keep him. The whole 10 months, even though I fell in love with him, I just wanted to get him to safety, and I planned on getting him to another rescue and a better home.
"But when he came in, he just trusted us and I just didn't have the heart to do that to him again."
