Forres family reunited with 17-year-old Labrador Bonnie after inexplicable disappearance
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A FAMILY in Forres has been reunited with their 17-year-old Labrador thanks to help from the local community.
Samantha Law and her family were left fearing the worst after their dog Bonnie went missing while out on a walk in Forres at around 11am last Thursday.
Bonnie has been part of the family for well over a decade having been with them since she was just a puppy.
But due to her age, Labradors have an average life expectancy of 12, and the wintry weather conditions, the family thought they would never see her again after her mysterious disappearance last week.
"She's a 17-year-old dog with arthritis so she's not a fast dog at all," Samantha said.
"She usually just plods behind us but when my husband was out walking her she started sniffing something.
"She just disappeared in a second after that so we think that she went back to smell whatever it was because she's a Lab and she's greedy.
"She was just gone. We searched and searched and you'd think we would find her because she's blonde, a little bit deaf and she has a cataract but she had obviously strayed from the path."
The family made an appeal for help on social media after they were unable to locate Bonnie themselves.
That saw thousands of people in the Forres community and beyond share the post while others offered to help search for her.
One person offered to use their drone while another offered to use their own dogs to help locate Bonnie.
"I was so touched by the amount of people who offered to help," Samantha said.
"I'd never met these people. Forres has grown over the years but there is a real community here."
Around 36 hours after the disappearance, Samantha received the news that Bonnie had been found and was being kept at the Moray Coast Vet Group in Forres.
But Samantha admits she thought it would be 'touch and go' after Bonnie had spent a night out in the freezing cold conditions.
"She was found just across the road from where she had gone missing," Samantha said.
"It was just pure luck because a lot of lorries go by there.
"She was quite flat and dehydrated and she had a wee bit of a swollen leg so she couldn't have gone far.
"When I got to the vet I thought it would be really touch and go but she's obviously made of tough stuff although I don't think she would have survived another night."
Bonnie has since returned home and the family are delighted to have her back.
Having had the weekend to rest and recover, Samantha says she is back to her normal 'greedy self' and is enjoying being pampered by the family.
"She's all my children have known really so we're delighted that she's back," Samantha added.
"She's been getting treats since she got back so she's enjoying that.
"For a 17-year-old Labrador it really hasn't fazed her at all.
"I just can't thank people enough and the vet as well. They were all so helpful. It was amazing."
