Their Dog Was Missing All Day. He Finally Hobbled Home With A Hero's Note Around His Collar

October 22, 2017

A retired New Zealand farm dog named Louie is being hailed a hero after saving his rabbit-chasing "girlfriend", Maddy, who got stuck in a hole under a large pile of brush pile.

Louie's heroic actions were brought to his family's attention after the elderly canine limped up his driveway, puffing, sore, collapsing with exhaustion at the house. Around his neck was a cardboard note.

Credit: Marolyn Dudfield

"Louie is the hero of the day. He lead me to Maddy in distress stuck under a brush pile," the note read.

Credit: Marolyn Dudfield

Louie's owner, Francie Diver, said Louie and Maddy chase rabbits together across the rural properties on the outskirts of the township.

"Maddy comes over every day about 4.30pm to collect him and they head off down the driveway into the distance," Diver told Stuff. "On Saturday, he went missing. About 6pm he arrived home so exhausted and had a tag attached to his collar. I thought, 'where has he been? What has he done?' I immediately thought the worst."

Maddy's owner, Rob, said he hadn't been able to find Maddy earlier that day as he headed off to run some errands in town. When he returned home, however, Louie was there, seeming very insistent on being followed.

"Rob said he was 100 percent sure that Louie knew what he was doing, and getting Rob to Maddy was his one pure focus," Francie Diver's daughter Marolyn told The Dodo.

"Once he found her, Louie helped Rob dig her out, pulling at branches, digging out the ground. Rob said the second she was free both dogs ran to a nearby pond and jumped into it exhausted and drinking water. He then gave Louie a huge handful of dog biscuits as a thank you. He knew Louie might get in trouble for being late home, so he thought he would write a small note to explain his absence."

Credit: Marolyn Dudfield

The Divers rescued Louie from an animal shelter when he was just a puppy. More than a decade later, their love for him is still growing.

"It has changed the way I look at him. And I think my parents feel the same way," Marolyn says. "I'm so proud of him."