MORE details have emerged about how a missing Siberian husky dog came to be at an animal hospital in Manchester.

A huge online campaign started to find Murphy when he slipped his lead and was thought to be stolen on December 4.

But the three-month search to find the beloved pet had a happy ending last week when Lidget Green owners Andrew Smith and Puiling Ma were reunited with the dog.

Murphy was signed over to an RSPCA inspector who visited a house in Manchester where the owner said they couldn’t look after their two dogs any more.

RSPCA inspector Natalie Avery said: "I took both dogs to RSPCA Greater Manchester Animal Hospital (GMAH) to be checked over and one of the staff said Murphy looked like a dog that was missing.

"We scanned him for a microchip and found that he was, in fact, the dog everyone has been looking for.

"Calling his owners was absolutely amazing. It’s a great feeling when things like this happen. They were overjoyed to see him, it was very emotional."

Murphy arrived at RSPCA GMAH at around 8pm on Thursday and by 8.30pm his owners had been called.

GMAH general manager Ben Faulkner said: "Within 24 hours we managed to reunite him with his owners. We are so thrilled to have been able to help him find his family and there were a lot of tears all round on Friday.

"Working at the sharp end of animal welfare, you often see and hear terrible things that people have done to animals, and to be able to play a part in such a remarkable reunion is just fantastic."

Andrew and Puiling are two-year-old Murphy’s ninth owners and the couple has two other rescue dogs at home.

They came across Paddy sleeping in a cemetery with a rope digging into his neck. He wasn’t microchipped and they adopted him from the dog warden when no one came forward for him after 28 days. Monty, another husky, has just come to live with them from a friend of a friend who couldn’t cope with him.

"Paddy was really pleased to have Murphy home, and he and Monty seem to be getting on okay. Murphy was the top dog in the house, and he’s definitely planning on stepping back into that role," said Mr Smith.