Two young white German shepherds that have been on the loose for over two weeks have been returned safely to their home.

Tom Connors, director of the Carbon County Animal Shelter, said they were caught at 7 a.m. Monday off Pine Hill Road in Andreas.

Connors said they were on the run for 18 days, malnourished, but otherwise, OK.

“The shelter set a trap and one went in,” Connors said. “The other stayed with it until the owner got there.”

Connors described the condition of the shepherds.

“The dogs were very skinny, and full of ticks,” he said. “They had a wellness check with (the) vet (Monday) afternoon.”

Connors said he was pleased with the outcome.

“Everything turned out fantastic, it was a happy ending,” he said. “Glad the dogs seem to be healthy.”

The shepherds belong to Eric and Mary Waksmunski of Mahoning Township.

“We for the past week had known the area they were in,” Mary Waksmunski said. “We had been in contact with the people that owned the farm, as well as a gentleman, Cole Gursky, who lives off Pine Ridge Road.”

Mary said the shepherds were actually probably in several hundred acres of land, and they were up on the farm. She said they had seen the shepherds, and Meghan Moyer, whose family owns the farm, called and said the dogs were there.

“I went up and actually saw the dogs off in distance; I called to them and they didn’t come to me, after that I just kept leaving food up there and we realized they kept coming back,” she said. “They were off and running and people were catching them on their trail cams, and that’s how we knew they were staying in the area.”

Mary said that Gursky’s sister originally called them to say Gursky had him on his trail cam.

“We then called him and became good friends,” she said. “His goal all along was to help us find our dogs.”

Mary said Connors set the trap on Sunday.

“I went there to the farm Monday morning, came around the corner, and saw Ruby in the crate,” she said. “I was like, ‘oh my goodness’, I was so elated when I saw the dog there.

“I was looking, but I didn’t see the other, Rayna, and I was really upset. Rayna heard me yell to Ruby and came out of the woods, she came right over to me and I was able to get her collar and hooked the leash to it.”

From there, Mary said she took Rayna home, came back and got Ruby from the crate.

Last week, a dog on the loose for at least two weeks was caught in a trap at Mauch Chunk Lake in Summit Hill.

That dog, believed to be a female Portuguese water dog, was caught around midnight Feb. 7, Connors said.

It was taken to the shelter, and didn’t appear to be injured.

If people see a lost dog, they should not try to chase it.