Dog hit by car found alive 15 miles from home

Yuliia Taravan had been searching for Reina for more than a week

A pet dog which ran off after being hit by a car has been found alive more than a week after going missing.

Reina was found 15 miles away from her home in Derbyshire following numerous sightings by members of the public.

Despite losing a third of her body weight from lack of food, she has been checked by a vet and is expected to make a full recovery.

Owner Yuliia Taravan said she, her husband and three children were all relieved - as was Reina.

'She's exhausted'

"She was extremely happy to be home but at the same time she was somehow confused," said Yuliia.

"She needs some time to realise she's now safe. She was walking around checking everything familiar; she couldn't believe she was finally home.

"She's exhausted. She lost a lot of weight - around 10 kilos - and she has some scratches but overall she's pretty good."

Reina has lost a third of her body weight but is otherwise healthy

Reina had been missing since 26 December, when she took off from outside her home in Rowsley after being hit by a car.

She was eventually found in Crich Lane in Belper on Friday morning.

There had been sightings of her in multiple areas, including Winster, Cromford, Crich and Whatstandwell.

However, she had run off scared whenever people tried to approach her.

'Call the owner'

Helen Buckland of Dog SOS Derbyshire, which helped find Reina, said she could have been running for at least 40 miles.

"Every sighting was of her running," she added. "She must have been so scared."

Dog SOS Derbyshire was particularly worried about Reina, a 15-month-old bernese dog, as she had been seen running alongside the A6.

"We ask people not to try and catch missing dogs because we don't want them to run into roads and get injured," she said.

"As horrible and scary as it is you've got to let them go, watch where they go and call the owner as soon as possible, because sightings are so important."

Reina is a 15-month-old Bernese dog

Yuliia said her husband managed to get Reina home after placing hot food on the floor near to where she was last sighted, then sitting and waiting.

"She appeared pretty soon," said Yuliia.

"She ran out of some bushes, she totally ignored the food and she went straight to my husband."

Yuliia said she wanted to thank everyone who contacted her with sightings of Reina.

"People were really helpful," she added.

"They were so concerned and they tried to send me as much information as possible."