A family dog missing for two weeks is home today after he emerged from undergrowth in Co Antrim, barely able to walk and close to collapse.
Sonny the Whippet triggered a huge community effort to find him after he was spooked while on a walk in Newtownabbey last month.
After two weeks of searches hope was fading for the six-year-old pet after thousands of people shared his story and dozens hit the ground looking for him.
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But his owner Joanne McDowell, 44, said she needed to carry out one more search as she prepared to face the reality that he would not be coming home.
With her daughter Eva, 14, she walked Carmoney Hills calling for Sonny, only to be stunned to see him emerge from undergrowth, barely able to walk, emaciated and frightened but alive.
She told DogsLive: “We had searched for Sonny day and night with family, friends, neighbours and people we’d never even met.
“There had been a few sightings but nothing close enough to get him and as the days went on, I knew the likelihood of finding him alive was fading.
“On Wednesday he had been gone for two weeks and I knew I had to face the reality that we'd probably not get him back because he has been gone so long and he'd never been a dog equipped to survive on his own.
"If he was lost out there somewhere and not safe in someone’s home, I knew nature would eventually take its course and we'd never get him back.
“He’s such a big part of our family so it was heart breaking. As I prepared for the worst I decided to do one more search, thinking it would be the last because we had to face reality - he had been gone for too long.
“My daughter Eva and I went up to Carnmoney Hills one more time to satisfy ourselves we’d done everything to try to find him. We just called his name as we had been doing for the previous two weeks.
“It seemed hopeless but we kept at it, just walking about calling and calling. And then suddenly this dog emerged from the undergrowth. He was so thin and for a moment I didn’t recognise him as my dog.
But he came over to us, tail down and it was him. He was skin and bones, just hanging together the poor pet. He could hardly stand, and he could barely walk. But he was there and he was alive.
“We just couldn't believe it. He must have been out all that time trying to survive, looking for food and water. And by the look of him he'd had nothing to eat for the entire time. Eva and I just scooped him up and took him straight to the vets in the hope we had got to him in time. And yes, there were a lot tears.
“Sonny has never been a dog who liked the outdoors, he’s always been a total home lover so to think of him out on his own all that time is horrible, but somehow he managed to make it, he must have managed to find water at least.
“Our vet gave him a full examination and incredibly he didn’t need any treatment. Apart from being very thin and exhausted, he had a few cuts and bumps on him but nothing too serious so they said he’d be fine to go home.
“So we took him home and he had a small amount of food and a good drink of water, and since then he has slept and slept. It's incredible to see him lying here back home and safe.
"He looks terrible because he's lost so much weight and he was always slim because of his breed so we'll take time to help him get back on his feet and put a bit of weight back on.
" I’m just so glad we did that last search to see if we could find him.. I didn’t think we would to be honest and it feels like a miracle that we got him.”
Sonny vanished May 19 while he was being walked on a long lead in fields at Ravelston, Carnmoney.
He was spooked by a noise and bolted with the lead still attached and he simply vanished into the distance with his family desperately trying to get him back.
They searched day and night for him and were joined by dozens of volunteers in their determination to bring him home.
A number of apparent sightings bolstered their hoped and in the last confirmed sighting of Sonny, he still had his lead wrapped around his legs.
Joanne said: “When we got him, half of his lead was still attached and the rest must have snapped off or cut cut off as he was moving around.
“I think he had been hiding for some time and then had got weak and disorientated because of the lack of food and water and too afraid to to go strangers.
“But on Wednesday he managed to walk out and reveal himself but he could barely stand and he just couldn’t walk any further. I think he probably knew if he stayed in the undergrowth he would die. So his last big effort was just enough thank goodness.”
Dozens of people took to searching for Sonny on the ground and thousands more shared posts on social media in a bid to track him down over the fortnight he was gone.
And today Joanne says she wants to thank everyone for every effort that was made.
She said: “I have been totally shocked by the number of people who actually took the time not only to share posts on social media, but to actually get up and out and go and look for him.
"I just cannot thank them enough. I just can't believe we have him home 14 days later. I have no words to describe how we are all feeling at the minute. If I could thank everyone individually it would take me a year to do it.
"It goes to show we have a fantastic dog community in Northern Ireland and people really do care.
“I can’t believe that with all the people helping us, friends and strangers, that it ended up that me and Eva were right there when he finally emerged. We're all exhausted but just so happy to have him home, shocked but happy, very happy.”
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