Riz, the cockapoo, is re-united with her owners from Tinwell in Rutland after being found in Irchester, Northamptonshire, recognised after viral social media appeal

A dog owner has said her and her family feel like the ‘luckiest people alive’ after their cockapoo was found 34 miles from home.

Riz, who is three, belongs to Rob and Lynsey Perkins and their two teenage daughters from Tinwell.

She was missing for five nerve-racking days but re-united with them after being spotted running along a busy road in Irchester, Northamptonshire.

Thanks to a Facebook post going viral, a woman and her daughter picked her up and were able to contact the family.

Within three and a half hours of getting the call, Riz was back home.

A grateful and relieved Lynsey, 44, said: “I just can’t thank everybody enough who shared the post and it really does show there are some really great people out there.

“I do believe we would not have had her back without her picture being shared so many times.

“The lady who called me about the dog didn’t have social media but her daughter did and she had seen the post, which was shared about 14,000 times.

“We were just heartbroken and struggled to function all week with not knowing where she was, but we would not have stopped trying to find her.”

Before disappearing, Riz had been asleep in a van parked on Main Street on Tuesday, October 15 while builders worked on the family home. At about 3pm, Rob and Lynsey noticed the van doors were open and Riz was missing.

Lynsey said Riz had returned tired and frightened but unscathed.

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