Courtesy Photo­Image Sophie

Sophie, an 8-year-old Wheaten recently rescued from a puppy mill, was found Monday after a week-long search.

You've got a facebook Request! CLICK HERE!

Sophie was rescued around 2 p.m. by a city employee who discovered her tangled in the marshes near city of North Platte's waste water treatment plant.

Sophie had to be cut free. She was still wearing her leash. The worker notified owner Larry Marquette and he took her to a veterinarian to be examined.

She was undernourished, full of ticks but okay, owner Amanda Marquette said.

Sophie will spend her first night at the vets, where fleas and ticks will be killed.

Sophie went missing July 2. A family member slipped and fell while walking three dogs, subsequently losing them all. Two dogs were soon found but not Sophie, family friend Laura Honeywell said.

Sophie was seen that afternoon near Second and Welch traveling south. The next day, she was seen at Sixth and Taft between about 1-2 p.m., headed west. On July 4, she was spotted near the waste water plant on Newberry Road. Workers tried to catch her but were unsuccessful. Her owners searched the marshy area near the facility on foot, then returned with the help of beagles, in hopes of finding her.

Sophie was seen again July 7 near the wastewater plant, but not again until Monday.

The Marquettes had had Sophie just two weeks. They found her through Midwest Wheaten Rescue in Omaha. They already had a "Wheatable" (not sure if it is a full bred) that they rescued at the North Platte Animal Shelter. It is "the most awesome dog in the world," Amanda said.

Sophie was five pounds underweight when she slipped away. She is 10 pounds underweight now, weighing in at 30 pounds, Amanda said.

Until Sophie was rescued from the puppy mill, she lived in a confined space with limited human interaction and little if any human comfort, kept to breed and bear puppies to be sold, Honeywell said. She had not had time to fully adapt to her new home and was still skittish about her surroundings, Honeywell said.

The Marquettes kept looking, posting updates on the Bulletin website as they searched. They offered a $300 reward and created a Facebook page titled "Help Bring Sophie Home."

"She's an abused dog who had a hard life," Larry said. "We’re supposed to help, and we had her a couple weeks and lost her. We had to find her and help."

Sophie had a home-away microchip implant, which is read by passing a scanner over a pet's shoulder blades. The scanner emits a low radio frequency that reads a code on the microchip and positively identifies pets.