Pooch missing for two months found stuck in rabbit hole

London, April 23 (ANI): A dog missing for over two months was found stuck in a rabbit hole close to the owner's home.

Heather Harrison, 51, from St Cyrus, Angus, believes she passed Sophie, a Jack Russell terrier, for weeks before she was found.

"After ten weeks of being missing, we never thought we'd see Sophie again. It was such a shock to find out what happened to her," the Scotsman quoted Heather, as saying.

"The skeletal little dog that was rescued from the hole couldn't have lasted much longer without food and water - I think of her as a little miracle. We're over the moon to have her home."

Seven-year-old Sophie and her brother Sam went missing from the car park outside their home in February.

Heather said: "I suddenly realised Sophie had disappeared when I went out to feed the pony we keep.

"She would always be at my heels, trying to steal the carrots from my bag. But she wasn't there."

Heather and her husband Peter launched a massive search operation for Sophie and Sam, fearing they had been stolen. They even contacted doglost.co.uk and Easy Walkers, as the search spread as far as Yorkshire and Orkney.

But the couple lost all hope of finding the dogs after ten weeks.

Then one day Heather heard a yapping noise from near her home.

She recalled: "The yapping was going on for hours.

"I left the house and went to the embankment beside us to investigate. I was out looking for four hours but just couldn't find where the noise was coming from."

She went on: "The next day, we tried again, with the help of my sister's Jack Russell, Winston. He led us to a tree stump and this shallow hole between the tree roots.

"I was amazed to look down and see a shiny nose and some teeth. I just thought it was a fox, I never for one minute expected it to be my dog.

"I got the shock of my life when Sophie shot out and ran past me for water. She looked terrible, just skin and bones and close to death."

While Sophie has now recovered Sam is still missing.

Nonetheless, Heather is happy to have found Sophie.

She said: "Sophie definitely got a scare, like we did. It's amazing she was so close to home all that time.

"She's made a full recovery and she's the same overexcited little dog she was before. We're thrilled." (ANI)