A dog owner had an emotional reunion with his Jack Russell after she went missing for three days in a local park.
Alan Whitton took Mitzi for her regular morning walk around Knighton Wood, Essex on November 20. But then she was chased by a basset hound and didn't come back.
He spent the following three days desperately searching for her, but was worried she might have "been savaged".
Whitton told Essex Live he left toys and food out for Mitzi hoping it would attract her, and leaflets were dropped in nearby houses in case someone had seen her.
"I broke down crying to anyone I spoke to about Mitzi, I was missing her so much," he said.
Nearly 48 hours after Mitzi had gone missing, Whitton went to investigate a fox burrow after he received a tipoff from a dog walker who said her dog had been sniffing around it.
He squeaked a toy near the fox hole's entrance, heard a whimper and started frantically digging.
Their emotional reunion was captured on camera by bystanders, who applauded as Mitzi was pulled out of the hole.
"I just broke down, I was overwhelmed with joy and disbelief, I had started to lose hope. It was like a Christmas miracle," he told Essex Live.
The first thing Mitzi did after being rescued was "smash her way through" a vegan sausage roll.
Whitton is looking at buying a GPS tracking collar for her so she can be tracked at all times on walks.
