A Bedford couple received their perfect early Christmas present, when they were reunited with their lost dog last week.
Toby, the Cavalier King Charles spaniel ran off on 9 November after being startled during a walk in Renhold.
Read: Missing Pet: Have you seen missing Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Toby?
Owners, Mark and Kim, were devastated and took to social media to appeal for sightings of their beloved pet.
Incredibly, after 13 days, Toby was found near Wilden and reunited with his delighted owners.
“Kim and I are over the moon to have Toby home safe and sound where he belongs,” Mark told the Bedford Independent.
“It’s like Christmas has come early for us.”
After Toby had been missing for almost a fortnight, the couple were becoming increasingly worried for his safety, particularly as the weather was becoming colder.
“After 13 days being missing, we were so worried that he would not be able to survive much longer.
“Being a small dog not known for hunting, we just had no idea where he would be getting food from.”
Thankfully, good news came on Saturday 21 November when Mark and Kim had their first confirmed sighting of Toby in Wilden.
And the best news they could hope for came the following morning, when a lady rang to say she had Toby safe and in her kitchen.
“When we got the phone call on Sunday morning at 7.15 to say he was safe, we couldn’t quite believe it as he was three miles west of Wilden,” said Mark.
“We rushed to the address and within a few short moments, Toby recognised us and we had him back.
“We would like to thank the Facebook community and the huge support they gave us in the search for Toby as well as friends and family who all gave up their time without hesitation to be out in all weathers.”
The couple also thanked Sue Sutcliffe from Paw Behavior in Radlett, whose team and trained sniffer dogs gave up their time and travelled to Bedford many times to help track Toby.
“As Sue would not accept any payment for her time or expense, we have started a crowdfunding page to provide them with thermal imaging scopes to help them find other lost dogs in the future and will be donating this vital equipment early in the new year,” explained Mark.
You can donate to Mark and Kim’s page here.
“We are now looking forward to life returning to normal and having our first Christmas with Toby. I am sure he will get spoiled rotten.”