Apr 7, 2006 7:57 pm US/Eastern
'Golden Ghost' Captured In NH After Two Years
STRATHAM (CBS4) ―
After two years on the run, the "Golden Ghost" is headed back to his New Hampshire home. A thing of local legends, the now-famous golden retriever has eluded capture since May of 2004, when he first wandered away in Deerfield.
The Golden Ghost also goes by another name: Sam. The four year-old earned his nickname roaming the woods in half-a-dozen towns for the last 24 months, surviving on keen instincts, picking through garbage cans, and eating food left out by concerned residents.
Friday, his owners and doctors showed Sam off to the cameras to tell his incredible story, and perhaps to prove Sam is no ghost. This legend, for one, is true.
Sam has been spotted time and time again over the last two years, so owners Peg and Dennis Sklarski knew he was still alive. But he became a pro at eluding capture, avoiding traps, tranquilizer darts, foot searches by volunteers, even a helicopter search. "He brought people together that didn't know each other, that just wanted to do the right thing," said Dennis Sklarski, Sam's owner.
Sam survived two cold winters outdoors and two hunting seasons. But nobody has been able to catch him, until now.
That happened Wednesday in Raymond. Sam wandered to a home where the owners regularly left him a bowl of food. "I fed him pork, chicken, steak, turkey," said Helen Mitchell. "I made it for him; cooked it up for him morning and night. He takes the bowl and runs with it."
But not this time. On Wednesday Officer Toma McCarthy of the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was waiting. A surveillance camera and remote control trap had been set to capture Sam. When he went for the food, Officer McCarthy hit a switch that dropped a net trap on Sam.
Sam is now spending ten days in quarantine at the NHSPCA in Stratham, where they will make sure he doesn't have rabies. He is also being treated for a case of heartworm, but by all accounts he looks good and veterinarians are optimistic about Sam's recovery.
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