By Sarah George
A dog who escaped from his owner’s garden during Storm Angus was safely returned home thanks to Facebook.
Lost pooch Max was spotted by passers-by outside Glazed Coffee on Ditchling Road opposite The Level at about 3pm on Saturday.
Chelsea Ray-Hutchins noticed his injured paws and posted his photo on the Facebook Hanover Community Notice Board in the hope of finding his owner.
Kirsty Erridge-Fahey was quick to spot the post and come to the Akita’s aid, searching lost dog groups before taking him to a vet near Kemptown.
Ms Erridge-Fahey said: “Max was lovely, clearly quite anxious and nervous but was really well behaved and very amenable with the veterinary nurse when she was trying to look at his bleeding paws.”
Coastway vets managed to contact Max’s owners, who said the mutt had managed to escape from their Coombe Road property because Storm Angus blew their fence down.
Hundreds of people watched Max’s story unfold on Facebook this weekend after his plight was featured on the the Hanover Community Notice Board, which has a staggering 10,743 members, many of whom were overjoyed to see Max returned home within a few hours.
“This is awesome, go humanity,” said one commenter, with another posting, “Brilliant news and well done on getting him home safely.”
Ms Erridge-Fahey said Max’s owner got in touch with her a day later to express his thanks and to say how relieved he was to have Max back.