GoFundMe launched to help get permanent dog trap to Tamworth

But a home-made dog trap, which made the four hour journey to Tamworth to help find Maddie, was the saving grace.

Now, a group of dedicated animal lovers have banded together in a bid to get their own trap closer to home.

It's been a "rollercoaster of emotions" for Emma Lovegrove and her Australian Shepherd Maddie.

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Four days after she brought the puppy home, Maddie was stolen from the Lovegrove's backyard in East Tamworth, and dumped on Armidale Road.

A couple of months later, she went missing again after running into dense bush land behind the home.

Ms Lovegrove, and her husband Sam, spent three weeks hiking through the bush and leaving trails of food and scented clothing to find Maddie.

But with no luck, the couple had started to grieve and accept they may never see Maddie again.

"I was distraught," Ms Lovegrove said.

"I thought she's probably dead, a snake has bitten her, I'd just accepted it."

But a "miracle" sighting from a member of the public at 2am, pumped up the search to find Maddie.

It was at this time the Lovegrove's contacted Sue Taylor, a dog lover in Taree, who moves her homemade trap around the state to help owners bring their furry friends back home.

Ms Taylor travelled to Tamworth, set up the trap, and left the couple with all the tools to find Maddie.

For almost three "tiring" weeks the trap, which includes livestream cameras, a laser to trip the gate, and heavy magnets, sat empty in the bush as the couple did everything they could to coax Maddie inside.

They left food, water and clothes, but Maddie, who was "quite anxious" refused to go inside the cage.

"I was just highly strung and anxious the whole time," Ms Lovegrove said.

In the process of trying to trap Maddie, Ms Lovegrove was bitten by a brown snake, and the couple were having to go into the bush in the middle of the night to reset the trap.

But after three weeks, the live cameras picked up Maddie entering the cage, and she was finally brought home.

Ms Lovegrove said without the trap, her beloved pet "would probably be dead".

To pay it forward, the couple has set up a GoFundMe page with the hopes of raising $3000 to help fund the materials for the trap.

It's the same process Ms Taylor followed when she crowd funded the trap used to save Maddie, and three other dogs in Tamworth, including Willy who was lost for 104 days.

Ms Taylor told the Leader a dedicated trap in Tamworth could make all the difference in helping reunite more dogs with their owners.

She said time was the most important factor.

"It saves me driving up and back, and it means you don't have to wait as long," she said.

"It's better to not leave a dog out that long."

A group of volunteers in Tamworth have already put their hand up to be "boots on the ground" once the trap is funded, Ms Lovegrove said.

"It's just going to be really beneficial if we have one here."

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