WHEN pets go missing, after a few days, people tend to have to brace themselves for the worst.
So when the Cook family's twoyear-old Yorkshire Terrier Jimmy had not returned after a week, they started to try to get used to the idea they may never see him again.
Linda Cook said: "All the advice we had was that after five or six days, he would be unlikely to come back."
She said that long after losing him on March 24 as he went off for a morning run, the family had accepted in their minds that they would not see their beloved pet again. "We were just trying to be philosophical about it."
The family left their Rokefield home in Westcott to go on a holiday after Easter with heavy hearts.
So they were shocked and amazed on their return last week to discover that vigilant neighbours had found their dog - and he was as right as rain.
Despite RSPCA officers and even firefighters hunting for him, Jimmy was found 12 days and five hours after he went missing on Maunday Thursday.
Neighbours in Westcott had kept up a daily search for the dog, complete with whistles and torches after dark.
He eventually emerged from a rabbit hole - to everyone's surprise. "We were just delighted and stunned really.
"He's in remarkable shape considering what happened to him.
"Luckily for him, it seems he was underground with rabbits rather than badgers, as badgers might have hurt him.
"He was down there for some time though," Mrs Cook said.
Westcott resident Michael Barrell said: "I would be out looking for Jimmy for up to four times a day, three times during the day and once in the evening.
"He was eventually found about 30 yards away from where he went missing.
"He was remarkably chirpy, but covered in sand and was taken for a check-up at the local vets, who were amazed that he had been missing all that time.
"This city underground is a big city. I bet he could tell a few tales of what he got up to down there."
What Jimmy did for almost two weeks only he knows and his family will never find out, but the main thing for them is that they got their much-loved pet back.
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