Grateful Blidworth woman's relief as police reunite her with her beloved dog

The drama unfolded as Helen Firth was walking her eight-month-old pooch Seth off his lead along a bridleway in the area at around 10.30pm on Tuesday (May 25) when he went missing.

She spent several hours desperately looking for him on Tuesday night and into the early hours of Wednesday and shared an urgent appeal on Facebook – but there was no sign of Seth.

However, shortly after 2.45am on Wednesday, Nottinghamshire Police received a call from a member of the public saying there was a dog in the middle of Ricket Lane in the village.

As the caller tried to walk towards the dog, he headed towards a path which made the member of the public think Seth wanted to show him something.

Police officers quickly responded and, concerned the dog’s owner may have been taken unwell, deployed a force drone to search the area using its thermal imaging camera.

Seth was successfully retrieved and he was well looked after at a nearby police station while officers carried out checks to trace his owner.

Officers took the young dog to the vets for a check over and subsequent checks – including microchip details – led to them tracking down Helen to reunite the pair at Ollerton Police Station on Wednesday afternoon.

Helen said: “I’ve had Seth since he was a puppy. I don’t know if he caught a scent while I walking him which was why he went after it and didn’t come back. I was frantic with worry. I was out looking for him until 2am and I went back out at about 7am.

“I was so relieved where I heard the police had found Seth safe and well. He was laying on a fleece top which I’d left at the footpath after he went missing. I’m very grateful to the police officers for everything they did and I also want to thank the member of the public who called the police and all the people who helped look for him.”

PC Jason Fellows, of Nottinghamshire Police, said he and his colleagues were delighted to help reunite the pair.

“We understand the pain of losing a pet and that for many people your dogs are part of your family so I’m really pleased we managed to get this result and very happy ending,” he said. “I was thrilled to be able to reunite Seth and Helen and I’m glad he’s now back at home.”

The force's newly appointed dog theft lead, Chief Inspector Amy Styles-Jones, described the the successful search to find Seth as a ‘heart-warming outcome’ and a ‘testament’ to the commitment of the officers involved in the search.

“Even though Seth was missing and there were no concerns about being stolen, the excellent response in this case shows how our dedicated officers will do everything they can to assist, showing their passion and commitment for providing the very best service to the public,” she said.

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