A grey squirrel has returned to its adoptive Bristol family two weeks after disappearing into the wild.
The unlikely pet was hand-reared by Downend mum Daveene McCallion, who found it injured in her garden earlier this year and named it Sandy.
Sandy became loved by the family and their neighbours, wearing a tiny blue harness as they took her out for walks to build her strength.
They were distraught when she went missing on November 14, and were afraid she was too weak to survive the winter.
Daveene, a wildlife enthusiast, said she "couldn't believe it" when she received a call last week with a sighting.
The mum-of-three said: "I never completely gave up hope. I know it sounds silly, but I was missing her like crazy.
"Out of the blue a lady rang and said 'I'm here with your squirrel'."
Sandy had been found near Vassals Park near Oldbury Court estate, and Daveene raced straight there to try to locate her.
She likened the search to the 80s television show Treasure Hunt, adding: "I was asking all manner of strangers to help and so many people got involved."
Eventually they spotted the squirrel, who she said was "up a tree and absolutely scared to death".
'She was fighting for survival'
Daveene stayed with her until nightfall and returned from dawn until dusk every day last week, until she regained Sandy's trust and was able to coax her back home on Friday (November 27).
She said: "She was very thin and ravenously hungry.
"I saw other squirrels chasing her and she had a few marks on her like she'd been scratched.
"She was fighting for survival."
Sandy is back to her playful self now, and Daveene is hopeful that their story will open up the discussion about grey squirrels and how they are treated.
She acknowledged the "controversy" around her keeping Sandy at home, but added: "Whether the law about killing grey squirrels is right or wrong, the welfare of individual animals is really important."
The retired bank manager acknowledged that squirrels are not destined to be kept as pets, but she could not let it die after it was attacked by magpies as a baby.
She took Sandy in and bottle-fed her, even installing tree trunks around the house to make her feel at home.
Natural England considers grey squirrels to be a 'non-native invasive species' and has rules on captivity, which does not allow them to be kept as pets.
Legislation
However, legislation brought in last December also makes it illegal for anyone in the UK to release grey squirrels back into the wild.
Originally sanctuaries were told they must kill any captive squirrels already in their care, but Natural England backtracked on this after widespread controversy.
After Bristol Live and various other news outlets reported on the missing creature, Daveene said she had messages of support from people as far-flung as America, who had read about Sandy online.
One woman messaged her to say her three year old son, having heard about Sandy's disappearing act, was approaching all squirrels he saw to ask if they could look out for her and share their acorns.
Daveene said: "Almost everyone I spoke to knew about Sandy - I was utterly gobsmacked.
"I felt such a strong sense of goodwill."
She had advertised a £50 reward for Sandy's return, but the woman who found her has donated the sum to Baugh Farm, which is currently running a Christmas grotto in aid of Barnardo's.
Daveene said the kindness she has experienced, and the opportunity to change people's perceptions of grey squirrels, had been a "platinum lining".
