Dog scared off during moose attack on women is reunited with owner

A dog that went missing after its owner was attacked by a moose last week has been found.

Molni, a 7-year-old blue heeler, was reunited with owner Catherine Dwinnell after being found at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Molni had been missing since Dwinnell and a friend were attacked by a moose near Kincaid Park on Friday.

In an interview Thursday, Dwinnell said that after a number of sightings, her dog was captured in a live trap near the intersection of International Airport and Spenard roads, a few miles from the site of the attack.

[Related: For two Anchorage women, a walk in Kincaid Park turned into a terrifying moose attack]

Dwinnell posted more than 200 missing-dog signs in the past week. She and her friends also set live traps in the area of the airport after people reported seeing Molni there, and one of the traps eventually captured the dog.

Dwinnell said the location of Molni's capture leads her to believe the dog was trying to head back home — she lives off nearby Wisconsin Drive.

Molni seems perfectly happy following her capture, Dwinnell said, if more than a little hungry.

"As soon as she got into my car she kind of sniffed around the whole thing and just plopped herself on the passenger seat," Dwinnell said. "That's where she drives with me all the time, with her little head on the console, and she just sat there looking at me like, 'What's wrong, Mom?' "

As for Dwinnell, who's still recovering from injuries suffered during the attack — including a punctured lung and broken wrist — finding her constant companion has lifted a big burden.

"I haven't slept well the last few nights, and just having (Molni) with me, it's just this huge flood of relief," she said.