Woody, a black and brindle hound mix missing in the Montecito foothills for almost six weeks, was reunited with his family Sunday morning.

Art Gaspar, Woody’s owner, received a call Sunday from hikers who said they had seen a large black dog on the Edison Catway between the Buena Vista and San Ysidro trails. Gaspar went to the site and reported that “within minutes” Woody jumped him from behind.

“He looks great,” Gaspar said. “Just a lot of ticks.”

Gaspar said family and dog are ecstatic to be reunited, and that they had not given up hope since Woody got away March 16 along the Hot Springs Trail. Numerous residents, hikers and walkers had reported sightings to the Gaspars and to Noozhawk. Woody, who was wearing a purple harness and a blue collar with tags, is extremely shy and many who had seen him reported that they could not coax him near enough to grab him.

The Gaspars said they were thankful to all who helped bring about a happy ending to the story. The period of time Woody was gone saw extreme temperature swings, with a few daytime highs in the upper 90s and several overnight lows in the upper 30s.

— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com.