A dog missing for five weeks following a firework attack has been reunited with its owner after being spotted with a stranger on a bus.
Greg Connelly, 66, feared he would never see his wire-haired fox terrier Millie again after she bolted when they were pelted with a firework near the Renfrew Ferry port on October 28.
He launched a painstaking search for the rescue pet across Renfrewshire and offered a cash reward to anyone who could find her.
More than a month after her disappearance, she was seen on a bus travelling through Paisley on November 29, with a woman who claimed the dog’s name was ‘Babe’.
Stunned owner Greg, from Renfrew, told the Record: “We’ve been searching all throughout Renfrewshire and Millie has been right under our nose the whole time.
“A picture of a woman on a local bus surfaced and I couldn’t believe it. I knew it was Millie.
“She looked so uncomfortable in the photograph.
“She had brazenly taken her out to the shops and on local buses.
“We had put posters up everywhere and had an appeal shared in this newspaper. Everyone knew who Millie was.”
An online campaign to find Millie garnered over 1.6K followers on social media with an army of volunteers hunting for the dog. The efforts were aided by Ayrshire Drone Dog Rescue who used drones and organised daily searches for Millie.
A tip-off from a member of the public led Greg to find the woman who lived just five miles away in Paisley.
Greg said he was in shock when he spotted Millie. He continued: “The woman came out of the house with Millie and I shouted that’s my dog.’
“I was in shock. I grabbed Millie and felt for the hernia under her tummy.
“The woman just handed me the lead. Then as I turned to walk to the van she came after me hysterically shouting ‘they are trying to steal my dog’.
“I called the police who came down and scanned her microchip to confirm it was Millie.”
Powerboat instructor Greg previously described his town as a “war zone” in the lead up to Bonfire Night and didn’t think he would see Millie alive again.
He added: “We had 16 nights of fireworks in Renfrew and then the temperatures dipped below zero. There is no way she would have survived that.
“It was an exhausting five weeks.
“There were so many false sightings from well-meaning people. “Every time I would get my hopes up.
He added: “The kindness people have shown has restored my faith in humanity. I want to especially thank Ayrshire Drone Dog Rescue who worked tirelessly. And all the volunteers who helped find Millie.
“They all kept me going when I felt like giving up. I want to thank the Daily Record too for sharing Millie’s story.”
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