A black collie was reunited with his family in Ealing on Friday night after going missing last week.

Bobby, a young, lean, athletic black border collie, went missing on Monday 28 February

for five days before a lady found him with a group of boys at a local park.

She managed to take Bobby, after shouting to the group of boys to leave her sister’s dog alone.

The lady contacted the family informing them that Bobby was at her place safe and sound.

Johnathan Bruns, 29, Bobby’s owner said: “We were all a bit lost, because a lot of things have happened that haven’t really made a lot of sense to us, and what happened just seems too good to be true at the moment.

“When we brought him home, he kept on looking to each of us into the eyes for more seconds, I think I can only imagine he was doing very much what we were doing just making sure it was real.”

Bobby was bought as a special companion for Charlie Bruns, Johnathan's father who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and has been confined to a chair since 2005.

Johnathan's mother Carys Bruns said: “It was a nightmare, an absolute nightmare and perhaps people who don’t own dogs themselves they don’t realize that if you have a pet, you mourn them and you love them exactly the same at it would be a child or father or a mother.

“He was Charlie’s companion by keeping him warm, sitting on his lap for hours on end, and providing endless entertainment with his silly japes and toys.”

Bobby and 29-year-old Johnathan were separated at Ealing Common Station.

When they went to the station, somebody came between them, leaving Bobby outside the train.

CCTV footage showed Bobby wandering up and down the stairs at Ealing Common looking for his owner before a couple, in their 20s, with a Staffy/cross dog approached him. 

The couple played with him for four minutes before encouraging him onto an eastbound Piccadilly Line train on Monday night at 21.37.

Bobby’s owners after investigation with the support of Transport for London staff discovered that he was taken down the East line when the couple got off the train and headed back in South Ealing.

The Bruns family had to wait 24 hours before they could get it registered with the criminal offence and to get a crime number.

Carys: “We were worried if we didn’t act fast enough they would sell him.

“I have been thinking that a lot of not very nice things have led to this incident happening, but a lot of significantly larger amount of very kind actions and very kind people have let us get Bobby back.”