A CHIHUAHUA feared dead by his owner has turned up 160 miles from his Weymouth home.

Resilient pooch Bodhi, who went missing three weeks ago, was dropped off at a veterinary surgery in East Sussex and was identified by his microchip.

Delighted Kathyrn Randall set out on the 10-hour, 320-mile round trip to collect her five-year-old pet after a surprise phone call from the Chase Veterinary Group in Hastings.

Kathryn, 26, of Wyke Regis, said: “I really couldn’t believe it when I saw him, he was so excited to see me.

“He was licking my face and I was crying, I was so happy.

“He has lost loads of weight but I’m going to feed him up. I don’t know who stole him though, where he has been or what he has been doing for three weeks.”

Bodhi’s incredible cross-country journey ended after what could have been a near miss with a car.

The person who dropped him at the vet said they nearly ran him over and left immediately, Kathryn said.

Veterinary nurse Georgina Darnell said: “We gave Bodhi a quick check-over but there were no obvious problems, we gave him some food and water, which he appreciated.

“His owner was absolutely overwhelmed to see him again.”

Last month the Echo reported how heartbroken Kathryn was bombarded with malicious text messages by someone who claimed they had found Bodhi and that he was dead.

Kathryn said the hoax calls continued until a few days before his return, leaving her to doubt that she would ever see her precious pet again.

Bodhi, who turned five during his ordeal, will now have a belated birthday barbecue held in his honour.

Kathryn said: “This has lifted a real weight off my shoulders. Bodhi is back to his normal self now and is back to being bullied around by my smaller dogs.

“I’d like to thank the people who helped me look for Bodhi, I received some really nice messages of support from Facebook and through the Echo.

“I was so lucky I had him micro-chipped because he was so far away and I don’t think I’d have got him back otherwise, I’m now going to get my other two dogs micro-chipped.

“Volunteers from the website www.doglost.co.uk were so helpful and went around putting posters up.

“It’s a miracle that I’ve got him back.”