Family who were left desperately worried about their dog who had gone missing, got a huge surprise when he finally returned with a special note hanging around his neck.

A family in New Zealand were distraught when their beloved sheepdog Louie disappeared for several hours. Naturally fearing the worst, they were hugely relieved when the 12-year-old dog finally returned home. His owner, Marolyn Driver, told The Dodo that they were worried that he’d forgotten where his home was.

But what his family didn’t realise, that the reason for Louie’s absence was that he was being a real hero.

Hero Louie

When he was younger, it wasn’t unheard of for Louie to spend hours outside wandering around. But as he got older, he started to lose much of his energy and began to stay much closer to home. So they were particularly worried when several hours had passed and there was no sign of him.

When he finally came home, much to the relief of his owners, they noticed a note hanging off his collar. Worried that their dog may have caused a problem or upset someone they took a closer look at what was written.

Owner Marolyn said:

"He was exhausted on his way home. We were afraid that something bad had happened, but when we saw the word, our heart melted."



The note read:

"Louie is the hero of the day. He led me to Maddy in distress, stuck under a branch pile. Cheers, Rob."

Rescuer

Rob is a farmer who lives with his dog Maddy near Louie's home. He later explained to Louie's owners that while he was out looking for his missing dog Maddy, Louie arrived and made it clear to Rob that the man must follow him. Louie led Rob to where the little dog had become stuck under a pile of wood. Thanks to Louie’s heroic efforts, Maddy was rescued without injury.

Tired boy

But Louie’s heroic efforts did take their toll on him and he was exhausted. He took some time to recover and couldn’t even get up for a while. For the second time, his owners became desperately worried about Louie and whether he’d survive his heroic adventure.

But the next day a very special visitor perked him up.

Rob came with Maddy to thank Louie again and seeing his little friend gave Louie the boost he needed. Well done Louie, you are truly a hero!