Uno, a seven-year-old Yorkie-shih tzu cross, escaped from Theresa McGailey’s home in November through a hole in the garden fence. The pooch was so scared by fireworks that he ran for it - leaving grandchildren Malachy and Shakiya devastated.
Ms McGailey, of Swindon, Wiltshire, then got a call nine months later on July 26 to say Uno had been discovered.
He was living as a stray in Weymouth, Dorset - over 100 miles away.
Ms McGailey said: “I can’t describe how happy I am. It gives people hope that if you’ve lost your dog there’s a chance that they can still come home.
“It was heartbreaking to see my grandchildren get so upset and suffer for month.
“Uno was absolutely fine, as soon as he saw me he came running up to me and was licking me. The feeling was so immense, just happiness and relief that he was back, relief there [was] nothing wrong with him.”
“My granddaughter got a bit teary and he was licking her and he sat with her the whole time.''
It is thought the dog may have spent some time living with someone else.
Luckily, when Uno was found he was microchipped - so Medivets and police knew Ms McGailey was the rightful owner.
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The 53-year-old said: “We looked for him everywhere, and obviously put posts on all the lost animal social media pages.
“I carried on hunting around the streets, putting posters up and asking online.
“They asked: ‘Is this is Theresa? Have you been in Weymouth?’ Then they said: ‘We have a little dog here, we’ve scanned him.’
“I started to get emotional and they told me to have a cup of tea and phone them back.”
After clarifying the rightful ownership, Ms McGailey soon made the trip to the seaside town to finally be reunited with her beloved pet on July 28.
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