A dog that went missing in Hamilton last week was finally reunited with his family this morning (Monday).
Boxer, a Staffie-collie cross, experienced quite the journey since jumping his garden fence in Wishaw on Thursday, March 11.
At one point, he escaped police custody after slipping out a lead at Hamilton Police Station after a woman handed him in.
This sparked a huge online effort as over 700 locals teamed up to bring Boxer home.
Owner Louise Sommerville even had a hoax caller pretending to have Boxer, only adding to the stress of his disappearance.
His movements were being followed by hundreds on a Facebook page set up to bring him home.
The power of social media proved key when Louise’s sister Danielle Sommerville followed a lead on Boxer’s whereabouts and brought him home at last to an emotional reunion at Carrick Crescent.
Louise told the Advertiser: “It’s thanks to those people we were able to get sightings of Boxer and that’s how we found him today.
“He normally goes out over the fence to the park and comes back in when we leave his food out. But on Thursday nobody had heard from Boxer.
“He slipped the lead at the police station because a lady picked him up, put him in the car and took him there, so when he’s slipped away that’s when everyone in Hamilton is looking for him.”
Boxer made his way from the police station, past Asda, then Eddlewood Park and went further up to Little Earnock and seemed to settle in a woodland area.
Louise’s partner Paul was out until 3am the morning after Boxer went missing, after he was spotted but ran away from him.
“By that time, his adrenaline is high”, added Louise. “He’s been flung into the back of motors, he’s been dragged about by police, everybody in Hamilton knows his name, they’re all shouting on him and chasing him, he’s that stressed he wouldn’t even come to Paul.”
Several sightings were made of the nine-year-old hound beside South Lanarkshire Crematorium but when people tried to approach him, he became frightened and ran away again.
Louise said: “I was sitting last night absolutely heartbroken. I was saying ‘he’s not coming back now, it’s been too long’.
“It’s been four days, I can’t believe it. It was a nightmare, thinking of him out there in the bad weather was really horrific.”
Louise’s sister Danielle was the one to finally rescue Boxer at Sherry Drive and used her own dog Lexi to get his attention.
Louise added: “We knew Lexi was the key but it was getting him to see her. When we got him he just appeared and ran towards her and we clipped the lead on him.”
Efforts to bring Boxer home had Louise and relatives cooking sausages on a barbeque beside South Lanarkshire Crematorium yesterday, hoping the smell of food would entice the pooch to come back.
“We set up a feeding station beside Hamilton crematorium, the last place he was sighted on Saturday”, said Louise.
“All of us lighting barbeques at a crematorium on Mother’s Day, you couldn’t write it.
“But we came home empty-handed and gutted. We had lost hope until we saw his wee face appear this morning.
“It’s thanks to the people of Hamilton that were out hunting for him day and night and posting sightings that’s brought him home.”
Boxer is now relaxing at home as Louise makes sure he’s settled after his bath and an appointment with the vet.
