Anne Coleman is overjoyed to have her papillon Sho-pan back safely. Photo Andrew Backhouse / The Chronicle

Anne Coleman is overjoyed to have her papillon Sho-pan back safely. Photo Andrew Backhouse / The Chronicle

EVERY dog has its day.

And Toowoomba woman Anne Coleman's papillon dog Sho-pan will live to see many more after he was saved from being euthanised thanks to the kindness of Toowoomba residents.

The drama began when Sho-pan, who is "a bit of a Houdini", escaped from his Hume St home on Tuesday afternoon.

He ended up at a vet on Alderley St where he was held as long as possible before he had to be taken to the pound.

When Mrs Coleman arrived at the council's Animal Management Centre she was shocked to be told it would cost $338 .85 to get her dog back, an amount she couldn't pay.

Mrs Coleman made the heartbreaking decision to surrender her dog.

Sho-pan was saved after a good samaritan saw Mrs Coleman's post about her problem on a social media site.

Mrs Coleman said the response she got from so many people who don't even know her was amazing.

"It felt awesome to know that there were people out there who do that sort of thing."

Mrs Coleman's benefactor Julie Baker said she was heartbroken to hear that a lack of money was separating the dog from its loving family.

"I posted a plea on Facebook saying I was going to help and the response was amazing.''

Environmental health portfolio leader Cr Sue Englart said people were responsible for keeping their dogs properly confined in private yards.