When Lenny the playful puppy went missing during a late afternoon walk the local community tried and failed to track him down.
Worried owner Amy Smith, 31, scoured the streets of her housing estate late into the night and she was joined by local residents armed with torches as word spread on social media.
Early the next morning a drone was even sent up to scour woodland from above.
But with the human search effort drawing a blank it was left to another dog to be the hero of the hour.
Amy’s father Stewart Smith brought his pet dog Alfie over and after sniffing Lenny’s bedding and toys at home he quickly picked up the missing dog’s scent outside.
Worried owner Amy Smith, 31, scoured the streets of her housing estate late into the night in search for Lenny (pictured)
Amy’s father Stewart Smith brought his pet dog Alfie over and after sniffing Lenny’s bedding and toys at home he quickly picked up the missing dog’s scent outside. Pictured: Lenny and Alfie
Amy is pictured walking Lenny (left) and Alfie (right) and is overjoyed that her sausage dog has been found
Lenny was found in a bush near the railway track, hidden out of sight
Mr Smith, 51, a firefighter, was holding Alfie’s lead and he was ‘dragged’ down the road to a bush near a bin store where a bedraggled looking Lenny was discovered.
The six-month-old miniature dachshund was clearly delighted to be reunited with relieved owner Amy who burst into tears.
And as a bonus the two dogs appear to have become firm friends as a result of the ordeal.
Amy, who works in customer services for Yorkshire Water, said previously her parents’ dog didn’t appear to be too fond of Lenny.
But now he is ‘very protective’ of the little pet and they get on very well.
‘I was crying when we found him,’ she said. ‘It was the first time he had gone missing and I was overjoyed to get him back. I literally didn’t sleep with worry.’
Amy, of East Ardsley, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said Lenny was on a lead when they set off for their walk at around 5.15pm one Wednesday last month.
‘We were out for about five minutes and he ran off. He had seen a cat and jolted and I dropped the lead. He ran off with the lead chasing him from behind and I think it scared him.
‘I shouted at him and started running but because I was running after him I think that was scaring him even more. Eventually I lost sight of him.’
Amy called her mother Nicola who joined her to help search.
By the time she arrived it was 6pm and getting dark. ‘I started panicking when it was getting dark,’ said Amy.
Amy lost sight of her sausage pup when he ran off after chasing a cat, but Lenny was able to track him down
Amy, who works in customer services for Yorkshire Water, said previously her parents’ dog didn’t appear to be too fond of Lenny
The family believe Alfie, a mixed breed dog (left), may have been involved in ‘hunting’ with a previous owner who had died and the dog certainly enjoys chasing squirrels
The area where Lenny went missing last month
Alfie had no problems sniffing out missing Lenny and was able to locate the pup in no time
‘I searched for around an hour and there was no sign of him so I posted something on Facebook and that got shared over 700 times.
‘People on the estate where I live were out looking for him with torches.’
Amy gave up the search shortly before midnight.
‘I didn’t sleep thinking of places where he could be and thinking the worst,’ she said.
But a message at 5am from a local drone operator encouraged her to keep looking. The drone was sent up to check out an area of woodland, sadly without any sign of Lenny.
It was at this point that Mr Smith arrived with Alfie.
They believe Alfie, a mixed breed dog, may have been involved in ‘hunting’ with a previous owner who had died and the dog certainly enjoys chasing squirrels.
And he had no problems sniffing out Lenny.
‘We were desperate at this point and were willing to try anything so we brought Alfie up to my flat to have a sniff around. We went straight out for a walk and found him within ten minutes.’
Lenny was found in a bush near the railway track, hidden out of sight.
After 24 hours on the run Lenny was ‘wet’ but otherwise unharmed.
‘It was a big relief and I am very grateful to Alfie for finding him,’ said Amy.