VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — "It takes a lot of man-hours to catch an animal."
That how Virginia Beach Animal Control's Meghan Conti finished the long list of strategies she and her colleagues employed to try and capture Lucy.
Lucy, a tan and white dog, ran away from her owners in December of 2018, just days after arriving at her new home.
"It's a special situation. It takes a certain type of dog and a certain type of person," Conti said, knowing the right person did in fact come along.
"It was an intuitive feeling," described Regina Quinn. "'Regina you're gonna be the one to do this.' My personality with animals is pretty steadfast, I don't give up."
For Quinn, that persistence was certainly key. She said over the past three months, she rarely missed a day, spending the majority of her nights on the stretch of land between Lynnhaven Parkway and Viking Drive, where Lucy has been spotted by nearly everyone who frequents the area. Oftentimes, she would stay out until 3 a.m. with her own dog Brody, observing and beckoning Lucy.
That stubbornness, however, was only to earn the true key to Lucy's capture.
"The reason I did this in a slow manner is to build her trust. Lucy needs someone to trust," said Quinn.
Without trust, a capture would simply lead to more similar behavior in the future, said Quinn, herself the founder of Blue Angels Advocacy and Rescue, a non-profit dedicated to the welfare of animals.
All the traps, tricks, and food couldn't do what some love, affection, and trust earned could: rescue Lucy.