Alderney's community rescues missing dog from rabbit-hole

An island community has rallied together to rescue a missing dog after it was trapped for nearly two days.

Three-year-old Oskar went missing in Alderney on Tuesday after vanishing down a rabbit-hole while out walking with owner Katie Orton.

The mixed-Terrier, who weighs less than a stone (6kg), was located after a resident's labrador was able to pick up his scent.

Miss Orton said she was "overwhelmed" by the community's support.

It's thought Oskar was trapped for a total of 42 hours after disappearing out of his owner's sight during their evening walk.

"We started searching immediately and even dug up a few holes we thought he may have gone down", Miss Orton said.

After an unsuccessful evening, Miss Orton's boyfriend slept out in the area in the hope Oskar would appear overnight.

She returned early the next morning to discover word had "got out" among the community.

"There were loads of people just turning up, helping us look, helping us listen into holes.

"It was absolutely awful weather at some points and people were out walking until late at night. Even people who weren't able to come down were checking gardens and keeping in touch.

"It was just an amazing sense of community spirit and love for Oskar - it really kept us going."

Eleven-year-old labrador Tigger turned out to be Oskar's hero after successfully using the scent on his jacket to track him down.

"I think he was as surprised as we were to find him", Miss Orton said.

"Really surprisingly he seemed quite fine, he started to run around, and seemed quite full of beans."

Miss Orton said she "can't thank everybody enough" for their "monumental efforts", and said Oskar had safely settled back into life at home.