A LITTLE lost dog has been found safe and well after spending five days stuck down a rabbit hole.

Yorkshire Terrier Pippin was out for a walk with his owner Sarah Brown in the field behind Stanway Village Hall on Friday when he disappeared.

Sarah, 40, spent the day looking for him, but could not find him.

Pippin, three, has inflamed bowel disease, which means he takes a variety of medicine and must follow a specialist diet.

Sarah put up posters in the area and a group of volunteers went out to search for him, but they were unsuccessful.

The Gazette also ran a story appealing for information about Pippin.

But yesterday, Sarah’s prayers were answered when she got a call from a woman who said she had found him in Villa Road, Stanway.

Sarah got a message from someone who said their dog had taken a particular interest in a rabbit hole in the field.

She went out digging to try to find him, just before receiving the call to say he had been found.

Sarah, who works at the Tollgate Medical Practice, believes Pippin crawled or fell into a rabbit hole and was stuck there for five days.

However, she thinks he was able to escape as he lost so much weight – 0.6kilos – during the five days.

Sarah, of Lucy Close, Stanway, said: “I can’t believe I’ve got him back. I didn’t think I would ever see him again.

“It is fantastic. It means the world to me.

“Only dog-lovers will understand what it’s like.

“It’s like losing one of your children.

“He was caked in mud. All his fur was brown. He was ravenous.”

Sarah took him to the vet who said, apart from being covered in ticks, he was OK.

He is now back home with Sarah and her other dog, Bella.