Bonnie the Beagle Has Quite A Day

In England last week a beagle-mix named Bonnie had an adventure that reads like the plot of a children’s book. It began when the five-year-old pooch went on the lam from her Bolney, West Sussex home, making her escape while her wards were preparing her food.

“We thought maybe she is not interested in food and did a full search of the house. I could not see her,” Peter Closier told the Argus. “I was walking back to the kitchen when I saw the gate had swung and I thought ‘oh no.’”

Distraught, the Closiers began a frantic search, enlisting the help of their two daughters, neighbors, police, the dog warden, and local vets. For three hours they searched, to no avail.

As it happened, Bonnie had been seen on the side of the road by one John Wilmer, who picked her up. As it further happened, Wilmer and two of his own pooches were on their way to a dog show in Felbridge. 

“I was in a bit of a rush to get there when we found Bonnie and put her in the car,” Wilmer said. “I left a message on Facebook before taking her to the show.”

Happily, the Closiers came across the Facebook post, to their relief. What they didn’t know was that Wilmer had entered Bonnie in the dog show. "She was such a lovely dog, I thought it'd be good to enter her." 

And that’s how Bonnie won third place and a bright yellow rosette.

“We couldn’t believe it. You could not make it up,” Closier said. “Bonnie was absolutely fine when she got back. She just thought she was having a great day out.” 

A great day indeed.

Photo credit: Paula Closier