It sounds just like the plot out of a fairy tale. But the story is all too true.

Gypsy Girl, a Nashua, New Hampshire dog that was reported missing a year ago was found Friday living on the banks of the Merrimac, New Hampshire River with a group of feral cats.

Holly Mokrzecki, founder of the all volunteer Granite State Dog Recovery, said Gypsy Girl “was giving us kisses and wagging her tail” right after being rescued..

“It was almost like she was relieved that she was finally caught. She’s a wonderful, wonderful dog.”

Gypsy, a 3-year-old black Labrador mix originally from Alabama, was adopted by a New Hampshire family in March 2010. Shortly after she was adopted however, Gypsy slipped her collar and ran away.

“Her adoptive family did look for her for a while but finally gave up,” said Debi Vaughn, director of operations for the Human Society for Grater Nashua. She has been living without human contact in a wooded area of the city of Nashua ever since.”

A couple of weeks ago, we received a tip from Kitty Angels, a nonprofit group that cares for feral cats, about a dog living among cats near the riverbank,” says Mokrzecki.

The group, along with the help of the Humane Society for Greater Nashua, set up a kennel with food in it in the hopes of rescuing Gypsy. They also set up a camera to watch the dog’s comings and goings. They would stake out the kennel every night from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. in the hopes of catching her. But the sly dog eluded the group for 11 nights.

Finally on the 12th night, Granite State Dog Recovery enlisted the help of Steve Sprowl of the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Sprowl placed a spring trap with marrow bone in the kennel.

The bone proved to be the kind of bait Gypsy couldn’t resist. She was finally caught at 3 a.m. and taken to the Humane Society for Greater Nashua, where she is being treated for Lyme disease but is otherwise healthy and happy.

And since she was abandoned by her former family, Gypsy will be put up for adoption by the Humane Society in a few weeks.

“Gypsy is a sweet dog that loves people,” Vaughn says. “Her personality would fit anywhere, but since she is a bit of a flight risk, this will be a special adoption to a person or family who has experience with dogs, particularly dogs with a tendency to wander. But she will make a very sweet, very good pet.”