A Northumberland mum has spoken of her heartbreak after her family dog was found dead after a six-day search.
Bob went missing on the morning of Thursday June 15 along the south bank of the River Tyne in Corbridge on a morning walk. His body was found there on Tuesday evening by a man who joined the search for Bob each night with his thermal camera.
The cockapoo, who would have turned one-year-old on Thursday, was a beloved family pet, but had an especially strong bond with 15-year-old Oliver, who is in a wheelchair after a brain injury at birth. Oliver and his mum Sarah issued a plea on social media on Monday to get Bob home safely over the weekend.
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The search gained nationwide attention, including that of the Lost Dogs Trapping Team, who arranged cameras, drones, search teams, sniffer dogs and posters. Sarah Voysey, Bob's owner, said that she is hugely grateful to the community who have brought him back home.
She said: "Amazingly, Bob seemed to make the community come together. The outpouring of love from the whole community, we didn't get spam messages, we didn't get trolls, we didn't get anything for something that went so big, you'd expect somebody to be a bit insensitive.
"But we had nothing like that, all we had was love and I just want to thank everybody for looking. It ended with the saddest news but we were trying to bring Bob home and we did."
Sarah said that the news had affected each member of her family in different ways. She continued: "We are so glad to have him home, it would have been even more dreadful to never find him and that's giving us some comfort.
"My husband and I are heartbroken, my daughter Elizabeth has written Bob a gorgeous letter and has promised him that whenever we see a feather we know he's sending his love to us from heaven.
"Oliver can't speak, he hasn't said anything since. He's just in shock."
The Voysey family are planning to bury Bob in their back garden so that he will "always be with them", and will surround his final resting place with solar lights and plants. Sarah finished: "We want to remember the joy he brought during the most horrific year for us with Oliver being in hospital so much.
"He brought so much joy, that little dog just dragged us through the darkest time. We have to remember that."
