U.K. Family's Missing Beagle Mix Returns Home with Third Place Ribbon from Dog Show

A family was left stunned when their dog escaped and then returned later that day with a rosette from a dog show.

Peter and Paula Closier became sick with worry when their five-year-old beagle mix Bonnie vanished through an open gate on Sunday morning.

The couple looked all over their home and neighborhood in West Sussex, England, getting help from their two daughters and neighbors.

Paula called the police, veterinarians, and animal shelters in a frantic bid to find the missing canine.

Earlier in the day, shortly after Bonnie escaped, and not far from where the Closiers were searching for her, John Wilmer spotted Bonnie by the side of the road while driving his two pups to a dog show in Surrey.

Running late for the show, Wilmer picked up the lost dog and brought her to the event with his canines. The Good Samaritan also posted a photo of Bonnie on Facebook to announce that he had found the dog. Paula saw Wilmer's Facebook post asking the pet's owner to get in touch and reached out.

After Wilmer and the Closiers connected and arranged a post-show reunion with Bonnie, Wilmer decided to enter Bonnie into the dog show he was attending. Wilmer registered the beagle mix for the Best Rescue Dog competition, and Bonnie returned with the third place ribbon.

"Bonnie was absolutely fine when she got back. She just thought she was having a great day out," Peter told SWNS.

"When she was missing, I had five different outcomes in my head, the best being that she came back," the dog owner added. "This was even better than that; she came back with a rosette."