Runaway dog places third in dog show before returning home

A family in the United Kingdom was stunned to find their dog had run away, just to return with an award from a local dog show.

Few things are worse than the gut-sinking feeling that you’ve lost something — or better yet, someone. 

So when a family from Bolney, West Sussex realized that their beloved dog was missing, they frantically thought of all options to find her.

Surprisingly enough, the pup was picked up on the side of the road and entered into a local dog show, only to return to the family with an award.

Owners search for hours before finding their dog’s surprising whereabouts 

When Paula and Peter fed their 5-year-old Beagle named Bonnie, one of their worst fears came true. She had escaped from their home, leaving her family in disarray.

Peter said he thought of all options as to where Bonnie could be as he and Paula searched their home before finding the outside gate had swung open.

Bonnie’s owners searched for nearly three hours until Paul found a Facebook post regarding their precious four-legged friend.

Turns out, Bonnie had been picked up from the side of the road by a man named John Wilmer. Wilmer, who was on his way to a dog show in Felbridge, Surrey, with his two pups, decided to enter Bonnie in the ‘Rescue Dog’ category of the show.

To everyone’s surprise, Bonnie placed third! Though her owners were worried, having Bonnie back as a third-place winner was more than they could have asked for, as Peter said to The Argus, “We couldn’t believe it. You could not make it up. Bonnie was absolutely fine when she got back. She just thought she was having a great day out.”

Wilmer, who swooped the escaped pup up to safety, reacted to Bonnie’s success, saying, “She was such a lovely dog, I thought it’d be good to enter her.”

Wilmer continued, “I was in a bit of a rush to get there when we found Bonnie and put her in the car. I left a message on Facebook before taking her to the show. I was so pleased she did so well.”

Though Peter and Paula have never entered Bonnie in a dog show, they said they just might pursue doing so after her award-winning escapade.

Bonnie was also a street dog before being adopted by Peter and Paula, so they feared she wouldn’t know her way back home. However, luckily for all involved, Bonnie was ok, as Paula said she was “thrilled” that Bonnie was safe as well as a winner.