A SIGHT IMPAIRED Bradford woman was re-united with her beloved dog, Max, just over a week after she reported him as missing.

On 22 November, the Telegraph & Argus put out an appeal after Lisa McConnell, from the Swain House area, was left distraught when Max, who she described as “very protective”, could not be found.

Lisa had also lost Busta, her other dog, who, along with Max, wandered out of her garden on 15 November.

Busta was reported to have been hit by a car on Canal Road, before eventually being found unconscious on a residential street in Wrose, the day after the dogs were reported as missing.

After being treated for his injuries by the RSPCA, Busta returned home to Lisa and recovered - albeit without Max, who was still missing.

This was despite witnesses reporting that they had seen Busta, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Max, a Caucasian Shepherd, walking together near B&M on King’s Road.

With Lisa being registered as sight impaired, Max was described as being “invaluable” to her, by Jane Hudson of Busters Animal SOS Team, who are based in Keighley.

Jane said, in the aftermath of Max’s disappearance, that “Max is a big, formidable dog, who keeps Lisa safe when she is walking near busy roads and crossing them and gives her the support that she needs.

“She got Max from abroad and trained him to help her, all by herself.”

Lisa said she felt scared during Max’s absence, saying “I’m registered as partially blind – Max helps me a lot around the house and in the garden. He lets me know when someone comes to the house or the gate outside, as he’ll bark.”

“Now he’s missing, I don’t know if anyone’s hanging around outside my house and I feel more vulnerable.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time at my neighbour’s house since he went missing, so she can keep me company. I’m scared to just be by myself”, Lisa said at the time.

On Friday night, however, a huge weight was lifted off of Lisa’s shoulders, as it was reported that Max had been found.

Lisa says he was found in the front garden of a house in the Lidget Green area.

He returned home to Lisa and Busta on Saturday night, with Lisa describing it as “overwhelming.”

“When Max returned, I was so emotional.

“Words can’t describe how I feel.”

“Busta was also very happy. He was laying on top of Max last night and he definitely seems really happy to have his buddy back.

“The public have really helped and if it wasn’t for all the people out there, then we never would have found him.

“Everyone came together to try and find Max’s whereabouts and it shows how great the community spirit is here. Now, we want to try and get back to normal.

“Today, he watched over the kids next door as they went to school in the morning. He’s very protective of them and watched over them today just as he always has, since day one.

“Again, if it wasn’t for everyone rallying together, we would never have found him. It feels great to have him back home and I am over the moon.”

Jane Hudson, of Busters Animal SOS Team, said “Lisa was ecstatic to have Max back home and it was so lovely to see them re-united.