Lost Bristol 'wonder pup' stuns owner after city adventure

A dog dubbed "the wonder pup" managed to navigate his way home through a busy city while his owner searched for him.

Pip passed some of Bristol's most iconic monuments on his 4.6-mile walk after he was separated from his owner on a stroll in Leigh Woods.

While Libby Bowles was searching for her rescue dog, he managed to find his way to her house in just 90 minutes.

He was seen crossing the Clifton Suspension Bridge before arriving home 20 minutes before Ms Bowles did.

Pip disappeared on 18 September at around 14:30 BST and his owner took to local lost and found Facebook groups to try and find him.

Pip captured on CCTV outside Bristol Museum

Ms Bowles said she had a "sick feeling" when she realised he was missing and felt "quite shaken".

She said: "He does go off in the woods and chase squirrels, it happens fairly regularly that I can't see him but usually I can hear his bell ringing."

As she wondered if she would see her dog again, the 47-year-old started to get messages from people who had spotted Pip making his way through Bristol.

He was seen on Whiteladies Road, and then passing BBC Bristol, the Wills Memorial Building, Park Street, The Centre, Prince Street Bridge and East Street, before arriving at his Bedminster home.

Pip is a rescue dog from Spain

Ms Bowles, who works in sustainability education, used tip-offs from people who saw Pip to find the CCTV footage after an "incredible community effort".

She said: "It makes me cringe to think of him crossing the big roads and a big roundabout but somehow he did it."

Known as 'Pip the Wonder Pup', the dog has a reputation for being quite a character in Bristol.

Ms Bowles cycles with him in her rucksack and says "there's a ripple of laughter and smiling" when people see him.

Ms Bowles says "there's a ripple of laughter" when people see Pip

She adopted Pip from Spain in March 2019. He is a podenco - a rabbit-hunting hound that is often referred to as an "invisible dog" or "the great forgotten".

Pip became a therapy dog in 2019 and is part of a programme called Read2Dogs, a scheme in which children can improve their literacy skills and wellbeing by reading to dogs.

Ms Bowles plans on writing a book about Pip's adventure around Bristol, which children can read back to him.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]