Lucy the puppy’s family have shared their relief of having her back in their lives after going missing for more than four days.

She disappeared on Saturday, February 18, while out on a walk with another family member in Conrhenny Plantation in Onchan after she was spooked by another dog on the trail.

After this, the public started a search operation to help the family in finding the five-month-old collie.

The search captured the nation’s hearts with hundreds of people turning out to help look for her all over the plantation and the surrounding area.

Jemma Ryan, Lucy’s owner, said: ‘It’s amazing, it’s such a relief. We didn’t think we’d get her back after four-and-a-half days.

‘When that woman phoned me in the morning, I was shaking.’

Lucy was found by Tina Prince and her chocolate Labrador Nero, who has been branded as ‘Nero the Hero’.

Jemma said: ‘He’d gone into the bushes and started growling and Tina said “he never growls”.

‘So she went in to see what he was growling at and just spotted Lucy’s pink harness.’

She was helped out by another member of the public, Tim, and the family were told the good news.

She continued: ‘I was running around the living room, I didn’t know what to do.’

Her 12-year-old son, Jamie Quayle, was also devastated when Lucy went missing.

Jemma said: ‘Jamie was still in bed [when we heard the news]. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him move so fast in my life.

After Lucy went missing, posters went up on social media, lost dog groups on Facebook were full of appeals for help with the search for Lucy.

Pip Quayle, Jemma’s partner, said: ‘The fact that there had been no sighting at all, we were thinking she must be stuck somewhere.

‘We were even looking up how long an animal can go without water and things like that.’

Jemma said: ‘At that young an age as well, she’s not going to have any survival instincts or anything. We even had Lucy’s mum up looking for her and some of her siblings as well.’

Jemma and the family would be up ‘day and night’ looking for Lucy, with Jemma going up to the plantation early in the morning, only returning home for sleep and something to eat.

The Manx public banded together and gave all they could to help find Lucy, with people using drones and heat cameras to search for her. The police used search dogs to try and find the collie.

However, Jemma was just relieved to have Lucy back in her arms once again and there were tears of joy when ‘dogmum’ and dog were reunited.

She said: ‘My cousin Rachelle got there before I did and she was crying and then I jumped out of the car. I don’t even think the car had stopped and everyone was crying.

‘She just leaped out of Rachelle’s arms and into mine and started scrambling up me.

‘She’s never been more happy in her life and neither have I.’

Lucy is still a little timid and very attached to Jemma, refusing to go more than a few feet away from her at all times.

Pip said: ‘If Jemma ever even stands up to go out of a room now, Lucy’s straight up and following her out.’

Jemma added: ‘She does not leave my side, but she’s eating fine, going to the toilet fine, playing and everything. It is almost like nothing’s happened.

‘I thought she’d forget all her tricks as well, but she hasn’t, she’ll still sit and wait for her food.’

Seeing Lucy play, you wouldn’t think that this puppy was away from home for four days, bounding along, playing fetch and soaking up all the attention she gets.

Lucy has been to the vet for a check-up since being found and has returned perfectly healthy, aside from being shaken up and the harness she had on causing some redness.

For the next few days at least, Jemma has said that Lucy is ‘grounded’ apart from a walk around their Braddan estate.

She was also able to make light of the situation, saying: ‘They (the family member who walked her that day) won’t be walking her again.’

When asked if she had anything to say to the people that helped reunite her family, Jemma said: ‘I am eternally grateful to everybody that helped. If I started naming people we’d be here all day, hundreds and hundreds of people have helped and thank you to the whole of the Manx public.’