Owner reunited with lost dog found 80 miles away

A DISTRAUGHT dog owner was reunited with her Labrador after it was discovered nearly 80 miles away from where it went missing.

Lola had vanished minutes after her owner, who asked to remain anonymous, saw her in the lane outside her New Forest home where the dog often played.

She said: “She went in five minutes; we couldn’t find her anywhere. Then a neighbour said she had last seen her near the van of a DHL driver who had just delivered a parcel to her.”

Lola went missing around 2.40pm on Saturday. Her owner immediately phoned DHL but as the driver was self-employed, they said they might not be able to contact him straight away.

She said: “I was worried that Lola might have got in his van without him noticing. She’s a very friendly dog.

“I thought I might be able to reach him through social media, so I posted about Lola while also reporting her disappearance to the police and dog warden.”

The message was shared by dozens of users and on Saturday evening she received a phone call from someone saying they knew where Lola was.

She was told that the DHL driver had thought she was a stray and that Lola did not have a collar on, although she had been wearing one when last seen by her owner.

She said: “We were told that she was in Bognor Regis and we were given a meeting place where we would be given Lola back. The police thought it was better if they went to get her, then we met them in Chichester in a car park.

“It was so wonderful to get Lola back.”

She is now keen to thank people who went searching for Lola and those on social media who helped find her.

The owner said: “We have been told by DHL that due to a language barrier the driver was not able to ask my neighbours who the dog belonged to or contact the police.

“I am just so relieved that she is home and well.”