Lost border collie Gwen back home after three-month Yorkshire odyssey

Gwen went missing in late December in West Yorkshire and was found three months later and 40 miles away in North Yorkshire

A dog who went missing for three months has been reunited with her owners after she was found 40 miles away from home.

Border collie Gwen escaped from a garden in Ripponden, West Yorkshire, on 27 December while owner Carron Whittaker visited family there.

After 29 unconfirmed sightings and hundreds of people helping with the search, Gwen was found in Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, on Saturday.

Mrs Whittaker said she "wished Gwen could talk" to learn about her journey.

She said she was unsure how the 11-month-old dog had travelled, or if someone had been caring for her.

However, Mrs Whittaker said the locations where Gwen was believed to have been spotted formed a straight line back to her home in Newcastle upon Tyne.

"I think I'd have fallen over if I'd have opened the front door and she'd have been there. Thankfully, she didn't have to do that," she said.

Carron Whittaker, pictured after Gwen was found, says border collies have an "inner compass", but she will be buying her a tracking device

When Gwen disappeared after dark during a Christmas family visit to West Yorkshire, Mrs Whittaker contacted a network of volunteers who help find missing pets.

A Facebook group set up to find Gwen eventually amassed 1,500 members.

One confirmed sighting in early February, close to where she had gone missing, saw Gwen peer through a home's patio window, only to run off again when a dog inside the house started barking.

Mrs Whittaker said: "There have been moments where I wondered if she was dead in a ditch or a farmer had shot her if she'd gone in a sheep field."

But she said she "took courage and hope" from experts who said collies were very resilient and good at looking after themselves outdoors.

"It's easier to catch a dog that's lost within the first couple of days, but if they go into survival mode and their sensitivities are heightened they become like a wild fox and you couldn't coax it towards you," Mrs Whittaker said.

Volunteers searching for Gwen printed flyers and distributed them in areas where there had been unconfirmed sightings

A woman living in Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale eventually used treats and a ball to get Gwen into her house, then a photo of the dog which she had put on Facebook alerted the volunteers looking for the collie.

After Gwen was reunited with her owners, a vet's check-up found her to be slightly underweight but generally in good health.

Mrs Whittaker said: "I was in a daze, I was so stunned. But it's fantastic to have her back. She can't stop wagging her tail, she's obviously delighted to be home."

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