If Molly could talk she could clear up a lot of questions.

But there is a story nonetheless, one that leaves people shaking their heads and asking how did she get here from Grafton, Mass., and why did she choose Conimicut Point? What is known about the 3-year-old Brittany is that she was bred as a hunting dog in Georgia. When Molly didn’t take to hunting, she was surrendered to a shelter there. The New England Brittany Rescue learned of her and took her to New Hampshire where Matt Rittenhouse fostered her. Matt couldn’t keep Molly, however, and she was placed as a foster dog with Janice and Al Harvie in Grafton on March 26, 2009. Within hours of her arrival in Grafton, Molly bolted out the door.

Janice says Molly returned the following morning to play with their dogs but fled when approached. Janice and Al thought she would be back when she got hungry. When she didn’t return, the Harvies made up posters and informed Saber Alert that notifies animal shelters throughout Massachusetts of a lost pet. They also posted a notice on Craigslist.

On June 22, a Light House Estates resident contacted them describing a dog fitting Molly’s description. Molly had made it to Warwick.

That much has been pieced together by Carol Faufaw of Shawomet Avenue. There are gaps in the tale, like how did she travel more than 50 miles without being caught or injured and what was the cause of the fear that made her so leery of humans, even those who worked so desperately to ensure her well-being?

One thing is certain, Molly is smart and she knows how to avoid getting caught. Or maybe, she was waiting for Carol.

Carol, who worked for 45 years in health care and is now retired, has always been an animal lover. She has owned a dog and currently has four cats. She assists with the trapping of feral cats that are spayed and neutered and then released if they can’t be domesticated. She works with groups feeding colonies of feral cats and, in fact, one feral cat is a regular at her home.

On one of her walks in Conimicut Point in July, Carol learned about a stray dog in the neighborhood from Jeanne Langford. It was thought to be the dog on Craigslist. Carol started taking biscuits with her on her walks, which she left along the marsh at Point Avenue. She would also whistle and call although, at first, she saw no signs of Molly.

But there were reports.

A dog with the rusty and white markings of a Brittany had been seen. It had a collar, which Carol believes led some people to think she belonged to some local irresponsible pet owner who had let her run.

Then one day “this whitish streak” ran out from the marsh, down Ellery Street and across Shawomet.

“I came to learn that this was her usual pre-dawn and near-dark routine,” says Carol.

She called the Warwick Animal Shelter and was told no one had reported a missing dog in the neighborhood. At the suggestion of Ann Corvin at the shelter, Carol borrowed a Have-A-Heart trap. It was set up in J.J. Conneally’s yard, a stop on Molly’s daily circuit and baited with chicken.

To lure the dog in, bites of chicken were placed outside the trap with the main course on the other side of the spring mechanism that would snap the door shut.

Carol recalls seeing Molly sampling “the hors d’oeuvres with gusto” and avoiding the trap.

“She clearly was smarter than me,” Carol concludes.

Other animals, however, were fooled and before coming up with another system the effort had bagged a cat, a skunk and four opossums.

Roger Keefe designed a second trap that was successful. Now Carol was able to read Molly’s tags, which later made possible a positive identification. But the chase wasn’t over. A leash was put on Molly while she was still in the trap and then when they went to get her out she escaped.

Carol was fearful the leash could prove to be Molly’s demise. It could get entangled “she might even end up as coyote chow.”

Remarkably when she spotted Molly again several days later the leash was gone, although she still had the collar.

The information gleaned from the tag put Carol in touch with Janice in Grafton. Not only did she learn of Molly’s past and that she is a Brittany, but there was heightened interest in trying to capture her. A California group was at the ready to assist, a dog trapper from Mansfield, Mass., offered assistance and a representative from the Boston Animal Rescue visited.

A third trap consisted of an animal crate with a guillotine-type door that Carol and her friend Jean Wylie, who by now was fully invested in this venture, planned to trigger from a hiding spot at Conneally’s home. Molly didn’t fall for it.

“At this point I was at my wit’s end and very discouraged about failing to help Molly,” says Carol.

Jean came up with the solution. Rather than a box-like trap, Jean devised an eight-foot square covered by a large net. In the center, J.J. placed a plate of food. Jean and Carol hid themselves and on schedule Molly made her appearance.

Molly circled and went for the food.

“My heart was pounding so loudly, I’m sure she could have heard it,” says Carol.

She released the net and Molly was caught, but to Carol’s amazement Molly didn’t fight to get loose. They attached a leash and a rope to her collar and J.J. carried her to Carol’s car. Inside the car she sat silently and trembled.

That happened on Oct. 28.

Since that day Molly has made a trip to the vet where she was cleaned of fleas and ticks. She’s had a couple of baths and is being treated for Lyme disease. The people at Cowesett Animal Hospital found Molly remarkably healthy. Thanks to the people of Conimicut, says Carol, she had lost only three pounds and tilted the scales at 53 pounds.

Today, Molly has been accepted by Carol’s cats. She’s given regular walks, has a comfy bed in the kitchen and is allowed on the couch. She’s an anxious dog. She averts eye contact and if a stranger gets too close, she starts shaking. She’s quiet, doesn’t bark nor shows any sign of aggression.

A bond is being formed.

Molly follows Carol and stays close to her side. If Carol is out in her yard without her, Molly will whine in short barks, however, if she leaves the yard in her car she’ll settle down.

“I don’t think the first three years [of Molly’s life] were wonderful,” says Carol. Carol plans to change that.

And Molly seems to know it.