Luna was found sheltering inside a small doghouse in Yellowstone National Park on October 14, ending a 34-day search for the missing terrier.

One of her owners approached the doghouse, and Luna came out to greet her before being secured with a leash, according to rescuer Katie Boucher. Yellowstone later confirmed that the dog had been recovered alive.

Luna, a 10-year-old Jack Russell and Chihuahua mix, disappeared from her family’s cabin in the Canyon Village area on September 10. Boucher, president of Montana’s Norris Ark Training and Recovery Center, spent the following weeks coordinating the search for Luna as sightings came in from around the park.

Before a storm arrived October 11–12, Boucher removed the remote-closing mechanism from the trapping enclosure and left it open. She told Outside that she placed a grass-filled doghouse inside so Luna would have somewhere to shelter while trapping was paused.

The enclosure was a Missy Trap, a portable system designed to help recover frightened or hard-to-catch dogs. When the team returned October 14 to reset the equipment and resume trapping, Luna was already asleep in the doghouse.

“She was sleeping in the doghouse waiting for us,” Boucher told Outside.

Her owner reached the enclosure first, with Boucher arriving shortly afterward. The trap never had to be activated; Luna had simply taken shelter inside.

The previous afternoon, callers had reported seeing Luna lingering near the enclosure. Boucher told ABC News that a construction crew helped identify the area she had been using.

Rescuers placed pieces of a family T-shirt and pillowcase inside to provide a familiar scent. They avoided food because it could attract bears or other wildlife to the recovery site.

Luna was underweight but alert

After leaving Yellowstone, Luna was taken to a veterinarian in Bozeman, Montana. Her owner held her during the examination.

“She’s underweight, but that’s to be expected. She’s alert and in good spirits,” Boucher told The Associated Press.

Reports differed on Luna’s starting weight and how much she had lost. Boucher told Cowboy State Daily that she was still waiting for the veterinarian’s assessment and did not yet know whether Luna would remain overnight.

By the afternoon of October 14, the monthlong search was over and Luna was back with her family.