ELY, Minn. (FOX 9) – Whether it’s between human and human or between man’s best friend, building a relationship usually requires trust. An experienced camper’s ability to do just that with a lost dog named Lessie ended the dog’s nearly two-month odyssey.

“I was so excited. I knew she was going to survive. Dogs are really smart. But it’s hard to lose a dog in a place like that,” said Jennifer Cadigan of The Retrievers, an all-volunteer nonprofit that specializes in helping families find missing dogs.

Lessie, a six-year-old German shepherd, ran in late June after the car she was riding in with one of her owners struck a wall and overturned on the Gunflint Trail north of Grand Marais.

The retrievers asked the public to be on the lookout for Lessie. About a month later, she was spotted on the east side of Ham Lake, about three miles from the accident scene.

A Minneapolis man who knows the area volunteered to camp there for a few days to see if he could find Lessie and bring her home.

“We talked about where we should go, what we should do and how we should do it. He had helped with a few other retriever cases before, so he had a little bit of training, and he relied on that, and he did a great job,” Cadigan said.

The camper set up some food and a trail camera behind his campsite, and Lessie was on video the first night. Little by little he convinced her to trust him, and by the fourth day he was able to hand feed her and eventually put a leash on her and lead her out of the woods so she could be returned to her owners.

“She was very worried at first, which is normal. But when she realized who it was, she exploded. She was so happy and jumped on her mommy and was so happy to be there,” Cadigan said.

The retrievers are convinced that Lessie survived on fish innards because the campsite was a popular place for people to gut their fish.

They say Lessie’s story should be a reminder to families of other missing dogs to keep the faith.

“If your dog is lost, don’t give up. You know they’re super smart. They can survive. Keep looking. Keep trying. Don’t give up,” Cadigan said.