FOUND! Dog who friend lamb f led with best safe after three weeks
(But sorry, there’s no sign of his fellow runaway)
IT’S the story of two unlikely runaways that has gripped the nation.
Blake the border collie and Bella the tiny orphaned lamb captured our hearts when they disappeared together nearly three weeks ago.
And just as hopes of finding the pair safe and sound were fading, owner Natalie Haywood last night revealed Blake had been found in a nearby village.
Unfortunately, there is still no sign of Bella.
Miss Haywood and her partner Jordan Knight were inundated with offers of help to find the two pets, with ITV presenter Phillip Schofield offering a £1,000 reward for infor-
mation leading to their recovery. Blake and Bella had been inseparablesince Miss Hay wood adopted the tiny lamb when she was just a few days old. They slept on t he same rug and played together. It is thought that they escaped from the back garden into nearby woodland.
Mother-of-two Miss Haywood, 23, said last night she was still in shock after finding her distinctive-looking, one-year-old collie.
‘We got a phone call from someone saying they thought they had our dog,’ she said. ‘It was close by so we just got in the car and drove over and picked him up.
‘He’s very well. He hasn’t lost any weight. He’s relaxed and fit and healthy. To be honest, he looks as if he’s been sat on someone’s kitchen floor for the past month.’
Miss Haywood had been out running an errand on May 8 when she returned to find Blake and fiveweek-old Bella missing from her garden in rural Nottinghamshire.
Search parties scoured t he countryside for days. The largescale hunt even involved ‘ pet detectives’ with sniffer dogs and volunteers from the Dog Lost campaign group. Heat-seeking drones were dispatched to hover over nearby woodland.
In the days immediately iately after the animals disappeared, there were signs of paw and hoof prints, but the trail went cold after days of heavy rain.
‘We didn’t sleep very well the whole time Blake was missing,’ Miss Haywood said. ‘It was awful. I didn’t know if I’d see him again.
‘I’m going shopping soon to get him more food and his favourite biscuit treats. We’ re just so relieved to have him home.’ She declined to give details of the people who phoned her out of the blue to give her the good news. But she said she and Mr Knight would now ‘regroup’ with their team of searchers in a renewed hunt for little Bella.
Blake had no collar, but is microchipped. Bella was wearing a small collar with a flower on it.
Miss Haywood believes Blake still longs for his friend.
She said: ‘When I got her she was an orphan and the farmer let me have her. The two of them were inseparable ever since. Bella thought Blake was her mum and followed him around everywhere. Blake was so gentle with her.
‘My little girl was devastated – she kept asking where Bella and Blake are. I’ve just said they’ve gone for a walk in the woods and hopefully they’ll come back soon. Now at least Blake is home.’