Dog missing for seven weeks found - with pups
BBCA dog missing for seven weeks was found in woodland four miles away, with pups.
Patsy, a Chihuahua-cocker cross, had only lived with Christine Reading from Yazor in north Herefordshire for 24 hours when she escaped through a hole in the garden fence.
"The last I saw of her, she was running up the across the fields into the 12 square miles of wood," the dog lover said, describing the situation as "totally traumatic".
Patsy was eventually found, having become a mum in the meantime, following numerous sightings from nearby residents. But Reading did not see the pups at first which were retrieved later.
Patsy had previously lived in a flat but when her owner had to leave she ended up with Reading and her husband Les.
Reading said she began to fear the worst after the dog had been missing for several weeks.
"There would go a week with no sightings and I'd be beside myself thinking something's happened to her," she said.
A trap with a camera was set up and, after a few false alarms, Patsy was finally spotted on the screen.
Reading said she shot up to the farm where the trap was laid to go to pick up Patsy but had not realised there were puppies.
"She barked, she growled. She'd been running wild and she was frightened," she said.
The dog was agitated and restless throughout the night following her return home and Reading noticed she was lactating.
She decided to take the dog back to where she was found and discovered a nest she had made for her four puppies among brambles underneath a tree.
Unfortunately, one of Patsy's puppies did not survive although the other three were said to be doing well.
Two will be given new homes, and one will be staying with the Readings.
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