Dogsey

A STAFFORDSHIRE Bull Terrier cross whose disappearance sparked numerous social media posts and searches has been reunited with his owner.

Nine-year-old Patch, made a bid for freedom from his new home in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, only a few days after moving there with owner Victoria Turville.

"He did this the last time I moved,” she said. "He gets a bit confused, and once he gets it in his head that he wants to go home, there’s just no stopping him.”

A frantic search took place, and posts on social media asked residents in the town to keep a look-out for Patch.

"People were searching high and low,” Ms Turville said. "My friends put it on 'another site', we were contacting the police and the vets, we contacted Happy Landings Animal Shelter, who kept in touch wanting to know how it was going and they even shared it on their own social media page.

"People kept posting their support saying they’d keep an eye out for Patch and saying he’d be found.

"It was horrible when he was missing. I was going out looking for him and kept bursting into tears. But it was their kind words, and their help that helped to keep me going.”

After a while, as the wider community began to help search for Patch, someone suggested Ms Turville check websites such as DogLost which contain details of found dogs.

"I wouldn’t have known about them if it wasn’t for the Shepton Mallet community,” she said. "Early one morning Patch’s picture appeared on DogLost. He’d been found in Town Street and secured in someone’s back garden until the dog warden could come and pick him up. He is microchipped but it was registered as my old address.

"I can’t explain how fantastic it was when he was found, and it was wonderful to be reunited with him. Thank you to everyone who helped – it means the world to have Patch back with us again.”