A distraught dog-owner and her beloved staffie have been reunited after her dog ran away and was found near Pimlico station.

Karen Viera, from Battersea, and her six-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier Lily were reunited after the pooch leapt over the family's baby gate and disappeared.

Fortunately for Ms Viera, who was frantically worried for her pet's welfare, a member of the public found him and took him to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

She was called by the charity because Lily had been microchipped and they were able to read her details.

Ms Viera said: "Because the weather was so hot we had the door open with the baby gate closed, but we just didn’t realise how easy it would be for her to escape.

"Our other dog accompanied us as we searched the area and I put out updates on my Facebook and Twitter so people could help me search for her.

"We are so grateful to Battersea for looking after her and contacting us. I’m so glad we had her microchipped, we might never have seen her again if we hadn’t." More than 65 per cent of all dogs arriving at Battersea are not microchipped with their owner’s details, making it difficult and sometimes impossible to successfully reunite lost pets with their worried owners.

Liz McWalter, head of intake at Battersea said: "It was fantastic to be able to reunite Lily and Karen so soon after she went missing and really highlights the importance of microchipping.

"Battersea offers free microchipping for dog owners at our three centres in London, Kent, and Windsor, and if you haven’t already got your dog chipped we’d urge you to take this simple step to ensure you can be reunited with your pet should you get parted."

 

TODAY'S TOP WANDSWORTH STORIES