Holiday cancelled: Dora the exploring dog runs away

Dora the dog from Suffolk ran off during a walk

A couple cancelled their summer holiday plans when their dog named Dora decided to run off and explore the woods.

Edward and Clare Burgess, from Suffolk, were due to board their plane on 22 August when they were called and told that Dora had gone missing in Tunstall Forest near Woodbridge.

They raced back home to search for their beloved pup and asked residents to look out for her on social media.

Dora was found five days later and acted "as if nothing had happened," the couple said.

"We took a phone call last Thursday just as we were about to board a plane for our summer holiday to be advised there was a problem," Mr Burgess explained.

"It rang alarm bells because it was the guy who had the dogs... [he] let us know that little Dora had nipped off in Tunstall woods to go to the loo.

"Something must have spooked her because she goes to those woods all the time and never does anything silly."

The couple's social media posts received a lot of interaction and she was spotted by a member of the public the next day but not caught.

Mr and Mrs Burgess were helped by FIDO and Drone to Home during their search

Day three of the search was hampered by heavy rainfall.

"Every day we were spotting her but it was stressful," Mrs Burgess said.

"You're frantic, you're worried.

"We'd never lost a dog before, never realised that these volunteers were out there, never realised the support and help was out there.

"We thought social media was the way to go... but it completely went out of proportion."

The couple said while they were extremely grateful for local support, they wondered if the vast amounts of people looking for Dora confused and scared her.

Mr and Mrs Burgess are back home Dora (top) and their other dog Olive (bottom)

A group called Finding Ipswich Dogs Organisation (FIDO) which used sniffer dogs as well as Drone to Home joined the search.

Several days later they were informed of a sighting on the Bentwaters Park estate by a security guard here.

"The guy that looks after our dogs all the time went over there and she ran up to him as if nothing had happened," Mr Burgess said.

"You wouldn't believe it and he drove her over to where we were positioned in the park."

Mrs Burgess said it was like Dora "had never been away" and looked remarkably clean.

"She was very hungry but she wasn't very thirsty, but I think that was because we had had so much rain on the Saturday," she added.

"She was just like, hi it's me I'm back."

The pup is now home with the couple and their other dog Olive.