A Renfrewshire family has been reunited with their pet dog – after he went missing for nine days.
The family “feared the worst” after their dog, Rocky, bolted on his night-time walk and didn’t return.
Craig Muirhead, and wife Sharon, 42, spent days looking for Rocky after he slipped away on Monday, January 2.
Dedicated Craig was often out until after midnight trying to trace the path his dog ran down, and the surrounding area, but had no luck.
Son Zach, six, was devastated to lose his best friend after wanting a dog from when he was a toddler.
Speaking to the Paisley Daily Express, Craig said that Rocky – who had been with the family for only 10 weeks – got scared of the lead bouncing behind him and that is what made him continue running.
However, the relief of finding him was immense. Craig said: “The stress that he caused us was unreal and the fact he has now come back to the house and laying in his bed as if nothing had happened is incredible.
“I usually take him out a couple of times a day and last thing at night around 10.30pm. As I was leaving the house and trying to close the door and put my jacket on at the same time, he pulled the lead out of my hand.
“Rocky is still quite a shy dog, so any noise usually gets his attention. When the lead hit the ground, he bolted and kept on running as it was bouncing behind him.
“To have him back home and safe is just a huge relief to not only us, but our son Zach, because we had to keep explaining to him that he may not come home.”
Sharon also commented on Rocky coming home and said: “It was unbelievable to see him again as it was over a week he had been missing.
“When he was caught in the cages with food, he had a cheeky look on his face as if he was annoyed that we had caught him and stopped his adventure.
“Lucky for us, this was just before Zach went to school so he got a chance to see him, but he didn’t want to go to school then as he wanted to stay and play with Rocky.”
The Shortroods family dog had seemingly been feeding off scraps from kitchens. Craig and Sharon had been contacted by Lost Pets Renfrewshire; a group of volunteers who search for lost animals and try and capture them by luring them out with food.
It was with this tactic that Rocky was captured and returned back home on Wednesday morning.
Craig and Sharon said the community’s help was like “something they had never seen” as they met people from all over the area looking for Rocky.
Sharon added that it was the community’s determination and strong will that helped them keep pushing to find their beloved family member.
“The community was just fantastic and we can’t honestly thank them enough as lots of people went out their way to look for Rocky,” she said.
“They always had high confidence and believed that “today would be the day” every time we met someone.
“It was not only the Shortroods area but right across Paisley community as everyone chipped in to help.”
Craig went on to say: “We are thankful for everyone who helped Rocky get home, especially the volunteers at Lost Pets Renfrewshire.
“Some of the volunteers spent hours and nights looking at an empty cage to capture him.”
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