After their beloved dog was stolen, a UK couple had little hope she would ever be returned.
Yet six years later, Simon and Caroline Hall were reunited with long-lost Cocker Spaniel, Bonnie.
The Halls were left bereft when Bonnie was snatched from their Durham farm in 2014. Yet on Thursday (local time), more than 6.5 years later, the family received an unexpected call.
"[Simon] came into the house deadly quiet and just said, 'I've had a phone call - they've found Bonnie'," Caroline said, as reported by Lynn News.
"I didn't believe it and I wasn't going to believe it until we saw photos of her."
The Cocker Spaniel was found wandering through a park more than 320 kilometres away in West Norfolk.
As is law in the UK, Bonnie had been microchipped - allowing a local dog warden to track down the Halls. A veterinary clinic that performed a hysterectomy on Bonnie said it's believed the dog was stolen to breed litters twice a year, the most recent of which may have been birthed two months ago.
"Gosh knows what she's been through, it doesn't bear thinking about - but at least we can get her back for a few more years and give her a bit of love and care and attention," Simon told Lynn News.
"It's all a bit surreal," Caroline added.
The trio was reunited on Saturday (local time), the day before Bonnie's 10th birthday.
Fenland District Council dog warden Caroline Trigg was delighted to be able to return Bonnie to her owners.
"I've never known a dog to have been gone this long before," she told the outlet.
"I think Bonnie's had a hard time with the breeding side. Someone has made a lot of money out of her, which is very sad.
"And she has clearly never been to a vet over those six-and-a-half years, or her chip would have been read.
"But being able to get her back to her loving home is wonderful - just the good news we need this year."
