After an intensive, nine-day dog hunt, the 3-year-old border collie-sheltie mix was trapped Sunday, Dec. 6, not too far from where he disappeared Saturday, Nov. 28.

The dog ran away through a broken window from the scene of a crash at the intersection of Route 24 and Plantation Road near Rehoboth Beach. Spotted several times, including once by owner Stan Lawton of Danville, Va., the traumatized dog would not come to anyone.

“There were so many prayers lifting up for him,” Lawton said. “This one had a real happy ending.”

Inky was on his way home to Danville Monday, Dec. 7, after being cleaned up and dipped – he had more than 50 ticks – by Kim Wade at Never Never Land Kennel.

“She treated him like he was her own dog,” Lawton said.

He also has a sore left front paw and lost about five pounds, his owner said. Lawton said his actual owner is his 12-year-old son, Jonathan, who has been heartbroken since the crash.

After spending the Thanksgiving Day holiday with relatives in the Cape Region, Lawton’s family was headed to Virginia in two cars.

In the crash, Lawton’s daughter and son-in-law, Brandie and David Collins, were injured and are recovering. In the aftermath of the crash, Inky escaped from the wreckage and disappeared into the nearby woods off Warrington Road. Both vehicles involved in the crash were a total loss, Lawton said.

That set off a search that would rival any police manhunt. Lawton spent from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. that first Saturday and another 17 hours on Sunday searching for Inky, but he had to return home to his ministry, Kingdom Life Fellowship and Bible College, to start the week.

He returned later in the week, driving eight hours from Danville, and ended up spending more than 90 hours walking the woods and driving in the area.

It didn’t take long for the word to spread that a dog was missing. Others joined in the search, including Thomas Murray, who lives in the area and is a member of the Lewes Fire Department that responded to the crash, and another nearby resident, Judy Talley.

It was Talley who helped spread the word with hundreds of missing dog posters. “We lost track of the hours and days,” she said.

“Last week was a blur,” Lawton added. “But he was worth it.”

Lawton said the network of volunteers and residents keeping an eye out for Inky was impressive. “Everyone knew Inky,” Lawton said. “We got to meet many new friends.”

He didn’t get all the names of the people involved in the hunt.

Murray spent every spare minute he had last week walking out in the woods. He spotted the scared dog at least four times, but could not get close to him. “It was his instinct to run,” Lawton said.

It became obvious to Lawton that Inky was in a state of complete distress, and the options presented to him were using tranquilizers or trapping him. Lawton said trapping was the answer.

“We knew,” Lawton said. “In my mind’s eye, I saw him in the cage.”

The trap was set by staff from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who, along with Delaware State Police, were active in the hunt for Inky. Lawton helped move the trap Saturday, Dec. 5, before returning home to preach the next day. Inky was found at 9:30 a.m. in the relocated trap closer to the crash site.

Lawton said Inky never wandered more than a half-mile from the crash site. “He had the sense to stay in that area,” he said.