Lost and hound
Runaway collie hands herself in at police station
STEVE Harper feared he might never see his beloved dog again after she was spooked by a firework and ran off in panic.
But they were to be reunited when Rosie, a clever border collie, handed herself in at a police station half a mile away.
Security cameras captured the moment when the ten-year- old rescue dog walked through the automatic doors then wandered around the station before lying down near the entrance.
Officers at Loughborough police station found Mr Harper’s name and number on her collar and he collected her soon afterwards.
Rosie was off the lead in the Leicestershire town’s Southfields Park area on November 3 when she was startled by a firework.
Mr Harper, 68, a retired biochemist, said: ‘She’s very frightened of fireworks. She ran away and went under the hedge. I thought I’d find her cowering under it and be able to soothe her but she had gone into the council offices and when I got there, she had left and was nowhere to be seen.’ His wife Julie, 62, added: ‘It’s thunderstorms, fireworks and even the Mastermind music that has her diving behind the settee.
‘I was so pleased and so happy she was safe and so proud of her that she was clever enough to find her way to the police station.
‘ Steve was distraught. He thought he had lost her. Then the police phoned and asked if we had a black and white collie and said that she had handed herself in. She was so pleased to see him.’
A Leicestershire Police spokesman said: ‘ Thankfully she was wearing a collar, so a lead was available to contact Rosie’s owner, who was delighted she had been found safe and well. What a lovely, clever dog.
‘Our staff fetched some water for Rosie, and made fast friends with plenty of fuss.’
Since police posted the footage on their Facebook page, it has attracted more than 2,000 views and shares.
Social media users praised Rosie’s initiative. One said: ‘She clearly followed signs for the nearest lost and hound’.