A terrified dog spooked by a firework ran for 30 hours on New Year's Eve, leaving her unable to walk.
The frantic pup was so scared by the noise, she bolted from her home in Conwy, Wales and ran until her tired paws were worn out.
The one-year-old lurcher, named Amy, even crashed through a wire hedge as she ran away from the exploding firework.
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Owners Joanne and Nick were sick with worry and the family - as well as locals - started a search party in the Welsh mountains.
After 30 hours, they were finally reunited with Amy - but her injuries were devastating.
The pooch's sore paws were left "red raw" and vets had to remove the ingrained grit before each pad was delicately wrapped in a bandage.
"When we realised that she'd got out I felt sick," said Joanne.
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"Amy spent 30 hours outside and had been frantically running for so long trying to find her way home that she wore the pads down, leaving her paws red raw and temporarily unable to walk.
"That was the thing that was upsetting because in the back of my mind I really hoped that she was safe and warm in somebody's house, and they were waiting until the council opened again to get her home."
Joanne says it was like "finding a needle in a haystack" searching for Amy in the dark.
That night, Nick even slept on the sofa in hope that the pup would return home and scratch on the front door.
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The following day, Joanne, Nick and their two sons were touched by the number of locals who gave up their New Year's Day to continue the search.
Posts were shared on Facebook and Amy was registered as missing with the dog warden and with voluntary organisation doglost.co.uk.
Voluntary drone organisation, Drone SAR even offered a drone pilot's service to assist with the search.
But by January 2nd, Amy was still missing and just as Nick prepared for another day of searching, he received a call from a woman who believed she'd found Amy in her mum's garden.
Nick and the boys drove just half a mile down the road and found the pooch cowering under a bench.
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Initially, she was terrified to leave her hiding spot, but soon perked up when she saw her family, who were all in tears at the sight of her wagging her little tail.
After driving home, Nick made a bed for Amy in the living room where the traumatised pup fell fast asleep
"When I got home she was fast asleep and she didn't get up to the door like she normally does," recalled Joanne.
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"She wasn't herself at all and when I looked at her paws you could see there was quite a bit of damage to them - some of the skin was flapping off."
Vets gave Amy painkillers, cleaned her injured paws and bandaged them up. She is unable to walk at the moment and is currently on bed rest.
"So many people have told me their dogs and cats were terrified over New Year too," continued Joanne.
"It's crazy that you can only buy two packets of paracetamol at one time but you can buy a box of explosives to set off in your back garden. Where's the health and safety logic in that?
"[...] I understand people want to have fireworks, especially on New Year's Eve, and everyone's entitled to do what they want to do in their own home.
"But I just think it would be nice if they'd pre-warn people and say they'd do them at a certain time when everyone's dogs are inside so what happened to Amy doesn't happen to any other dogs."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media