Homesick dog runs away from pet daycare and crosses two motorways in seven-mile trip to get back to owners’ house
A HOMESICK dog battled across two busy motorways and several A-roads in a bid to get home after escaping from pet daycare.
Miraculously, three-year-old hound Daisy completed the seven mile venture and got herself back to her owners' house in Staffordshire after sparking a frantic search when she went missing.
Phil Blakeway and Charlotte Webster, from Drayton Bassett near Tamworth, often take their pet to be looked after at a daycare on the outskirts of Birmingham, while they are at work.
But they were worried sick when at 7.30am on Thursday, February 18, they received a call to say Daisy had escaped.
Charlotte, a doctor who works in Birmingham, said she "felt immediate dread" when she found out her beloved pet was missing and hadn't been seen.
The 29-year-old told Birmingham Live: "She had only ever been driven to the area and it is more than seven miles from home.
"Between our house and where she went missing lies the M42, the M6 Toll and numerous busy trucking roads which supply the north of Birmingham."
Dozens of people turned out to help search for Daisy after a post on social media was shared thousands of times.
Later in the day, Daisy was spotted near the Belfry Hotel and Kingsbury Water Park - meaning she has crossed two motorways in her path.
After searching for hours on end, Charlotte and Phil, who works as a carpenter, decided to go home at around 1am.
But they couldn't believe their eyes as they pulled onto their driveway - more than 17 hours since Daisy's escape.
"As we turned onto the drive my headlights shone onto the porch we had left open and there was a very sheepish and tired looking Daisy, dutifully looking out for our return," Charlotte said.
"I could see she was whimpering and her tail was going a million miles an hour when she recognised the car.
"I was so shocked. Never in a million years did I think she would be able to find her way home. We had lots of cuddles, and there was not a dry eye between us."
The couple, who say they don't blame the daycare for Daisy's escape, believe she managed to navigate the final few miles home as they had left a scent trail of their clothes and her favourite treats.
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Phil, 32, rescued Daisy after he found her abandoned on the streets of Sri Lanka as a puppy in 2017.
She was nursed back to health and cared for by UK registered charity Animal SOS Sri Lanka before being flown to the UK in 2018 to be with Charlotte and Phil.
Charlotte added: "We joke she is a bit of diva but her remarkable journey home to us showed she is definitely made of that tough Sri Lankan street dog stuff."