Operation Pearl - the plan devised to send a Chihuahua lost near Roundup home to Maine - came together Friday.

Monetary donations flowed in and a Helena woman who was flying to Maine stepped up.

If all goes well, Pearl, a 4-pound pooch with a pink collar, will be reunited with her family in Topsham, Maine, early next week.

Pearl went missing for three days in a field of knee-high alfalfa after Jared and Racey Collins had an accident that totaled their Pontiac Grand Am on the Fourth of July. They were moving from Washington state to Maine in advance of Jared Collins' deployment with his Army unit to Iraq.

Racey Collins, 19, was injured, went to the hospital and was released the next day. Jared Collins, 23, was uninjured. The couple lost most of their belongings but found their cat. Pearl, however, went missing. The Collinses looked for Pearl but had to get back on the road in a rental moving truck.

Pearl turned up three days later when she wandered into an area resident's yard. Community members helped care for the dog.

Cathy Probert of Roundup and her friend, Raechel Nelson of Grass Range, with whom Pearl has been staying, began a drive this week to raise an estimated $300 to $500 to have Pearl transported to Maine.

The Collinses ran out of funds after Jared Collins flew back to Washington from Maine to rejoin his unit, but Racey Collins said she would be sending money the first of the month to help pay for Pearl's trip.

After publication of Pearl's plight in Friday's Gazette, the offers began pouring in, Probert said.

Deborah Rumberger, an employee in the Addictive and Mental Disorders Division of the state's Department of Public Health and Human Services, already was flying to Portland, Maine, on Monday for a family gathering. Portland is about 30 miles south of Topsham.

Rumberger offered to take Pearl with her and her two children.

"We called the airlines. It looks like it's going to be real doable,'' she said. "It really worked out incredibly well. This is going to be fun."

Rumberger's colleague, Carol Davidson, also worked Friday to nail down the details and raised the $150 needed for the airplane ticket for Pearl.

"This has been so exciting. People were coming down on their lunch break'' to donate, she said. "We've got a group of doggie lovers here at work."

Meanwhile, Nelson took Pearl to Raths Veterinary in Lewistown, where she got a health certificate for flying and a rabies shot, courtesy of the vet. Nelson said she plans to drive Pearl to Helena for the Monday flight.

Probert fielded donations that came to more than $600, she said. The money will be used to pay for Nelson's gas and the rest will be donated to the Collinses to help them pay hospital bills and other expenses, she said.

"I'd really like to say thank you for the overwhelming support we received," Probert said.