EDMONTON – A woman from Alberta is thanking an unconventional strategy for helping to find her lost wolf-dog.

Jeanine Rebsomen went to the airport in Calgary to pick up her new pet that was being flown in from Oklahoma.

But Aria the dog ran off after her crate was opened and wouldn’t come to airport staff or animal control officers.

After a few days Rebsomen flew in Aria’s previous owner, Courtney Curtis, from Oklahoma and they came up with the idea of using scent to lure the dog.

Curtis urinated in a cup and spread the scent around an area where the dog had been sighted.

She also brought an old blanket and dog toy’s that Aria was familiar with.

On Thursday the dog came running up to the women and they were reunited.

“Once she came into the headlights I knew immediately it was her and it didn’t take her very long at all to run right up to me and it was the best feeling ever,” Rebsomen said Friday.

“She was sniffing towards Courtney and then she picked up her scent and it was joy, it was ecstatic, it just made me cry.”

With help from Curtis, Aria is settling into her new home near Edmonton and getting to know her new owner. (CTV Edmonton)