Gracie, a blue heeler missing for almost four weeks, is safe back at home.

The dog slipped out of her house near the Lone Butte General Store near N.M. 14 on July 2, and except for a few sightings the first few days, seemed to have vanished.

Gracie's desperate owner, Bill Hill, scoured the area. Along the way, he picked up a dedicated group of helpers, dubbed Gracie's Angels, who have joined the search by air, by cross-country vehicle, on horseback and on foot.

The core group went beyond such low-tech methods as posting fliers and developed an extensive e-mail list and even created a Web site, www.graciecomehome.

The group took over the search after Hill, a film technician, had to leave town for a film festival in Michigan. Hill, however, continued placing newspapers ads, contacting shelters and trying other ways to get the word out about his lost dog. On Tuesday, after the dog was sighted in the Eldorado area, an automated phone service hired through lostmydoggie.com called hundreds of homes with a description of the dog.

But the sightings turned out to be wrong. Somehow the dog found herself on Cochiti Pueblo.

Maria Chavez said she had seen a blue heeler in her Cochiti neighborhood last week, but at first thought it was one of her son's dogs, also heelers. She said she realized it was a stray when she got a closer look.

Chavez, who had been out of town a few days, said she connected the stray dog with Gracie when she read a newspaper article about the search and saw the photo. On Tuesday, she called Hill about her hunch. On Wednesday morning, she called Hill again, saying she had put Gracie on a leash after simply calling her name.

"She had that collar on," Chavez said. "It's a distinctive collar. Most dogs on the reservation don't wear collars."

Hill, still in Michigan, called Jan and Walt Hunt, dedicated searchers who have spent a part of almost every day looking for the dog. Jan Hunt said the two rushed over to the pueblo to make sure it was the right dog.

"It was obviously Gracie," Hunt said. "We took off her leash and said, 'Let's go home, Gracie,' and she jumped in the car."

Hunt, who had never met Gracie before Wednesday, said the dog became excited when they neared Hill's home. "Her tail started wagging and she started whining," Hunt said. The dog immediately went into the home, and through her dog door to the backyard.

"I think she was looking for Bill," Hunt said. A house-sitter will keep Gracie in check until Hill comes home next week.

Hill said it was still sinking in that Gracie was safe at home. But he never gave up hope that she would be found.

"It's just amazing," Hill said. "I've never been in a community where everyone just came together to help out. I'm just elated; I can't wait to see her."

Cindy Roper, who created the Gracie Web site and spent much of her free time on the road looking for the dog, celebrated the dog's return with the Hunts.

Gracie is definitely a people dog, Roper said, and probably was picked up by someone who then took her to Cochiti, about 20 miles away from her home.

The dog appears to be well-fed, clean and has no injuries.

The Hunts, who also have heelers, said the search for Gracie took on its own life. The family has lost their three heelers since moving to Santa Fe three years ago. Two died of old age and a third suffered injuries in a dog attack.

While they have adopted two other heelers, something about Hill's plea and Gracie's photos tugged at her, and reminded her of her own loss.

"We were never going to give up," Hunt said. "I feel that this has helped with our own healing."

Contact Ben Swan at 986-3985 or bswan@sfnewmexican.com.