Family's Christmas wish granted after missing dog returned

Leigh Cole is ecstatic to be reunited with his English staffy dog Evie four days after she disappeared from a Kohimarama home while her family ate Christmas lunch. Photo / Supplied

The family of a beloved pet dog who went missing while they ate Christmas lunch has had their Christmas wish come true after the pooch was returned this morning.

Grace Taylor said her uncle Leigh Cole was "ecstatic" after collecting the English staffy from a woman in Stonefields this morning.

The woman told Cole she found 9-year-old Evie in St Heliers on Boxing Day and had been walking her and feeding her ever since.

Taylor said they were unsure what happened to Evie in the hours from when she went missing from a front yard of a Kohimarama home on Christmas day and when the woman found her in St Heliers on Boxing Day.

Evie was on the front lawn with two other dogs, both poodle-crosses, before she went missing.

Leigh Cole is ecstatic to be reunited with his English staffy dog Evie four days after she disappeared from a Kohimarama home while her family ate Christmas lunch. Photo / Supplied

"We're not sure of the full story and even how the lady came across Evie but we know she was well taken care of and the lady even took her for walks."

Evie's rescuer told Cole she had previously owned a staffy so knew she was not a stray.

The woman took Evie to the pound but they would not give her the owner's details so she looked online and found the missing dog ad they had placed, Taylor said. She contacted Cole on Saturday night to tell him the good news.

Evie's family was grateful to have her home as they had believed she might have been stolen for dog-fighting because of her muscular appearance.