Life on the lam over for furry escapee

Life on the lam is over for Indy, the service dog in training who escaped Wednesday from the state women's prison at Purdy.

Officials said the elusive canine was captured Saturday evening and returned to the prison on Sunday morning, much to the relief of Prison Pet Partnership Program staffers who run the training program.

Beth Rivard, who directs the program, said Indy's movement patterns were tracked Friday and Saturday as he wandered at large near the Gig Harbor area.

Based on these patterns, two safe areas were established with food and the familiar scents of blankets and clothing.

After a while, Indy connected the safe areas with the people who in the partnership program he knew and began approaching.

Finally, on Saturday evening, he approached one of the Prison Pet Partnership Program's volunteers and allowed her to leash him up. He spent the evening at her home and was returned to the prison in the morning.

Indy, one of 16 dogs being trained at the prison by the female inmates to help physically challenged people, made his escape during a training outing north of Gig Harbor.

His handlers feared the 50-pound German shepherd-Australian shepherd mix, still wearing his red training vest, would be hit by a car while he was on the loose.

Indy also escaped with his leash attached, which they feared could get tangled in something.

A whole team of searchers joined the effort to find Indy.

"Other than being elusive he's a great dog - he's friendly, he's loving," Rivard says.

Now that he's back in custody, Indy can finish his year-long training.