Dog Runs Away From Home And Comes Back Later That Day With Award From Rescue Dog Contest

The Closier family hoped when their dog Bonnie ran away from home that she would return safely.

But of all the various things that can happen when a dog gets out, they certainly did not expect this.

She came home with a prize.

Bonnie, a five-year-old Beagle-cross, vanished from the family home in Bolney, West Sussex.

Upon discovering that their dog had gone walkabout, Peter Closier enlisted the help of his neighbours and his two daughters to try and find the missing pooch.

The search party wandered the neighbourhood for three hours. They also called the police, local vets, and dog wardens to try and locate the disappearing doggo.

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Little did they know that Bonnie was having the time of her life and winning big in the process.

Peter, 48, revealed that the collarless canine had been picked up by a man on his way to a dog show.

"All along she had been picked up by this guy who had seen her running along the side of the road," he said.

"She had no collar on, we had taken it off the night before.

"He must have picked her up within about five minutes of her getting out."

Fellow dog owner John Wilmer took the lost pup along with him to the dog show and jokingly entered her into the Best Rescue Dog category.

Bonnie, the very good girl that she is, came home with a third place rosette.

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After the dog show, Wilmer put a picture of Bonnie up on Facebook and the absconding pooch was soon reunited with her family.

"Bonnie was absolutely fine when she got back," Peter said.

He added: "She just thought she was having a great day out."

While annoyed at their little escape artist's antics, the family said they were relieved to get her back.

"She knows she shouldn't have run out in the morning," Peter said.

"I heard other dogs were going by [the house] that morning and so I think she escaped trying to follow other dogs."

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Well, that's what she certainly did considering she wound up at the doggiest place around: an actual dog show.

And here's the kicker, Bonnie's sister Cleo is a prize-winning show dog, but the family had never entered Bonnie into any competitions.

"We never pursued it with Bonnie. We should do now," Peter said.

"When she was missing I had five different outcomes in my head, the best being that she came back."

He added: "This was even better than that, she came back with a rosette."