Spaniel caused eight road closures while owners were on vacation in Spain | UK News

The moment a dog who caused eight motorway closures after escaping while his owners were on holiday was finally caught.

While with her family in Mallorca, Nicola Patterson, 33, from Wrotham, Kent, received a call that her beloved dog, Phoebe, had gone missing.

The Welsh Springer Spaniel was in the care of a family friend in Dartford when she ran into the back gate and fled the garden.

Mrs. Patterson boarded the next flight home after receiving the news.

She said: ‘I flew home – I didn’t sleep all Tuesday night and on Wednesday I got a very late flight home for me and my baby.

‘I got back to Stansted at around 2am on Thursday and managed to get home by 3am, but I was already searching by 5am.’

There had been sightings of Phoebe in Kent, but it appeared she had crossed the A2 on a footbridge before panicking and running away when she came across industrial units.

There was then a report that the spaniel was spotted on the shoulder of the A2, causing the road to be temporarily closed for checking – but Phoebe was nowhere to be found.

Over the next few days, Phoebe’s disappearance led to seven more road closures.

The charity Lost Dog Discovery UK has been given permission to place five cameras on the M25 to help with the search for the spaniel.

A few days later, Nicki Scriven, who works at the charity, finally spotted the beloved pet on her cameras.

Nicki called Nicola to tell her the news, saying: ‘I saw her, I saw her – she’s on camera.’

Nicola confirmed that it was indeed her lost dog, and that night permission was granted to set a dog trap.

The trap was set and Nicola’s father bought some good food to lure Phoebe, including a doner kebab and sausages – but the dog never ate again.

So Nicki spent time sitting on the side of the road watching the Welsh Springer Spaniel eat all the other foods that had been left out, ignoring the expensive foods.

On Saturday 7 September, National Highways suspended traffic again so a second trap could be set – and at around 11.20pm, Phoebe spent eight minutes circling the trap and driving away.

And the video captures the moment Phoebe was finally lured into the trap – with Nicki pulling up in her van soon after to meet her.

After nearly two weeks of turmoil, Nicki was reunited with her beloved pet.

She said: ‘They put the doghouse at the back door and took it apart and she came flying and jumping through the back door and was so happy to see us.

“Other than being thin and having some skin missing from the pads, there was nothing else wrong with her.

“She was jumping like she had just gone for a walk, not that she had been missing for 11 days.

‘That was my husband’s birthday – so it was like a birthday present that she came home.’

Reflecting on the impact the dog’s disappearance had, Nicola added: “We were receiving messages from people all over the world who owned the same breed – perhaps her breed is the reason she became so famous.

‘Generally everyone we spoke to was very helpful and the number of people who came out looking for dog walks was incredible.’

Since returning, Nicola said Phoebe is much more confident and barks more often – but she says “it’s a small price to pay” to have her dog at home.

Contact our news team by emailing [email protected].

For more stories like this, check out our news page.

MORE: My cat was missing for 9 years – this is where we found him

MORE: Mysterious creature seen in zoo and experts have no idea what it is

MORE: Woman laughs as she shoots slingshot at zoo housing hippo Moo Deng

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.