A ‘miracle dog’ who underwent four major surgeries after eating a sock on Valentine’s Day has now been reunited with his owner.

Four-year-old Doberman pinscher Dexter, whose condition worsened after the first operation which led to a two-hour taxi ride of ‘pure hell’, came back with owner Lisa Jennings, 48, this week.

His survival chances ‘dropped’ after a crucial second surgery – which became zero if he didn’t have it – only to be diagnosed with sepsis two days later.

Ms Jennings, of Clyde Road, Wallington, said: “He was so excited when he got back that he kind of ignored me. He’s clearly ecstatic to be home, and he’s comfortable, and he sleeps, and sleeping is the best thing. I think that will aid his recovery.

“It was like going on a first date or something, I felt sick. Lizzie [my friend] was picking him up in her van with Casper who is his best mate.

“They sat in the back of the van while he was in the cage to keep him company on the way home.

“He came home and sat with him in the van to keep him quiet because we thought it would be a bit uncomfortable.”

Dexter has recovered from the fourth operation and what was previously a critical condition, with six weeks of recovery ahead of him and a 10cm scar from a procedure at the Royal Veterinary College.

Law lecturer and mum-of-one Ms Jennings, who has had Dexter since he was eight weeks old, said she didn’t realise how stressful the two weeks when he was gone would be and likened it to seeing a relative falling ill, not expecting to be that affected.

She added: “You love your pets but there’s such a huge part of my life and the thought of losing him, it was horrible. It was really, really, really stressful.

“The thought of losing him, when they were saying he was 50-50 then his chances went down to 70-30 and then they by the third one they didn’t tell me what his chances were, they just said this was his only chance.

“It was heart-breaking. There were moments where I worried he wouldn’t come home but in my heart I kept saying, ‘He’s coming home, he’s coming home’.

“I kept telling he was coming home so I think he knew he was coming home.”

Ms Jennings has also praised the staff at both Carshalton’s Parkside Veterinary Centre and Royal Veterinary College in north London, as well as her dog walker Lisa Blackmore from Wonderful Woofs, in Surrey, who takes care of Dexter when she is away.

Now she is asking for people to help her fundraise to pay off the rest of the medical bills after covering some of it.

A total of £2,070 has been raised by 77 people in 10 days, at the time of writing, with a goal of reaching £11,000.

You can see the GoFundMe page here.