Dogsey

A search dog who went missing on her walk after chasing a rabbit near her home in Penmaenmawr in Conwy, North Wales was discovered 14 days later, caught in a fence with only her front paws touching the ground. It seems that six-year-old spaniel JoJo had managed to survive by eating grass and drinking rain water.

JoJo's owner, David Jones who trains dogs for search and rescue duties, said that if JoJo chases a rabbit, she's usually home in half an hour. When she didn't return home, a search was organised but she was nowhere to be found. Mr Jones worried that she might be trapped somewhere and would die a lingering death, or might have been stolen.

JoJo was finally found by another search dog from the International Training Centre Wales and Mr Jones credits the dog with saving her life.

“One of the gun dogs found her on Saturday,” he said. “He went into the bushes and barked once.

“She was hanging on a fence with just her front paws touching the ground, she'd eaten all the grass around her and I think the heavy showers we've been having gave her something to drink.”

Mr Jones described JoJo – who is trained in the search of human remains – as “just skin and bones” and said she had been given pilchards and milk, as well as antibiotics. He added: “It's not what she's worth, because her training is worth around £9,000, I just didn't want her to linger, and have an awful death.

“She's not out of the woods yet and will need physio on her back legs, but at least now she is taking on fluids.”