Hank, a 2 1/2 year old English Bulldog, pit bull, boxer mix, ran away from his home in Russell on July 3 while outside to go to the bathroom. His owner, Lyssa Knapp, had been away and left him with her sister and niece.

Knapp believes neighbors setting of fireworks scared Hank enough to take off.

“We spent four hours in the woods but there was no trace of him,” Knapp said. “We’re in a heavily wooded area and we spent the entire Four of July with other people looking for him.”

Knapp quickly posted a photo of Hank to social media asking for assistance. Within a day he was spotted nearby in the woods, but efforts to corral him were unsuccessful.

Hank was seen in various locations toward the north end of the county as well as some areas in New York.

Vicki Cusimano, a North Warren resident, got involved in the search for Hank after the Four of July holiday. She has helped others in the past locate missing pets, and she offered a trap to Knapp and others looking for the dog.

More than three weeks after he went missing, Hank was spotted near a boat launch at Webbs Ferry in Russell. On July 27, Beth Thompson — who also had been assisting in the search — set a trap for him. The following morning Cusimano put out some “fresh bait” near the trap when Hank appeared.

“I watched him awhile where he couldn’t see me,” Cusimano wrote on Facebook recounting the moment. “He ran into the weeds where the trap was so Beth said, ‘Go put some food on the ground there,’ so I did and he came out and ate it. So I put some more out and as I was heading back to my spot I came face to face with him! This was my opportunity to lure him to me with food, so I laid flat on my stomach and lured him to over to me where he got close enough to eat out my hand.

“I made a grab for his collar but he backed away. So I ran out of food in the can and had to get up and go to the food that I put on the ground. He followed me over there and I sat down and coaxed him to me again. I had one piece of food left and one more chance to grab him! So I went for it and hung on for dear life. … He thrashed around a bit and them calmed down while I pet him and talked to him. I then walked him to my car and when he saw the car door open he went right to it and jumped right in and his journey was over. He was so ready to go home.”

It was an emotional moment for Knapp when she learned Hank had been captured.

“When I got the phone call I just started balling,” she told the Times Observer. “It was hard to see him — hard with all the weight he had lost. But he had no ticks and only had a few scratches.”

Cusimano called the rescue a “group effort, starting from all of the great Samaritans who report sightings ASAP and all of the people who run down all of the leads, which eventually leads to the capture,” she said. “I can’t stress enough how important it is to report lost animal sighting ASAP.”

Asked why she assists in helping others find lost pets, she said, “I just put myself in their shoes and know how I would feel if it were my own dogs, and I meet so many wonderful people while looking for lost animals.”

As for Hank, he was taken to the Russell Veterinary Hospital for a checkup and brought home. “He’s back home happy and healthy,” Knapp said. “He’s back to his normal self.”

Regarding Cusimano and her efforts, Knapp said, “She’s literally an angel on Earth. She did so much.”

She thanked others, as well. The community was just so amazing and supportive, sharing posts and taking time out of their day and looking. I’m just so thankful,” she said.