Isa Lost and Found in Swampscott

Isa still is.

But the 1-year-old Spaniel mix could easily have become a was.

The difference makers were many and now she is safe at Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem.

Isa is a street-smart dog rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico.

She's a Sato, the slang term for a feral city dog, and was given safe haven in Salem at the Northeast Animal Shelter a week ago, said director Randi Cohen and Jen Adams, head of the shelter's volunteers.

Isa was placed in a foster home in Lynn to get accustomed to home care. But late Tuesday night, while on a walk on a retractable leash, she did what street dogs are likely to do — bolt.

Isa's run set off a wave of actions including posted fliers, online pleas for help and people responding to those pleas by heading out looking for the animal.

The flier read, in part: "Please check your sheds, garages, under decks...anywhere a small dog could hide! Isa is painfully shy and is TERRIFIED."

Randi and Jen of Northeast even got emails from an animal communicator, someone who helps locate missing animals through telepathic means.

At 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, the shelter got an email from the communicator who said she could sense the animal was near a sea wall and columns and traffic. And that it was hiding in a dark place, a crevice or gully.

On Wednesday night Randi and Jen rode through Swampscott where the dog had last been seen: near Erie Street.

They weren't alone in their search. They saw people out with flashlights looking for Isa.

They even checked an area that matched the animal communicator's description.

Fast-forward to Thursday morning and Isa sightings rolled in.  About 10:30 a.m. someone saw her on Norfolk and Middlesex in Swampscott.

Later, a Swampscott police officer, responding to a report of a dog running in traffic, spotted a dog at Kings Beach in Swampscott, near Red Rock Bistro. 

Apparently the dog had leapt from a sea wall, dropping some 20 feet to the rocks below. 

"After combing the rocks, every nook and cranny, we spotted Isa who had wedged herself in a crevice," said Northeast volunteer Cindi Hudson. "With the tide coming in we knew we had to work fast. With special thanks to volunteers, neighbors, and the Swampscott Police who were all crucial in this rescue - Isa is now safe and sound back at Northeast Animal Shelter."

"It's a miracle, that she was found that quickly, within a day and half," said Jen Adams.

Isa had almost chewed through her trailing leash.

On Thursday she sat huddled in a corner of her kennel at the shelter.

The shelter reported that she had cuts and scrapes and seemed a little sore but nothing was broken. She was patched up. She ate a great meal, and was napping in someone's arms.

She will relax for a few days.

Then, she will hopefully find a home.