A FAMILY has been reunited with their pet dog, which was missing from home for more than 36 hours.

Bruno, a three-year-old boxer, set off on his adventure after escaping through a hole in the garden hedge at a home in Bishop Auckland on Wednesday.

His family had just paid £2,000 to bring him from Australia and were devastated when he went missing.

But the wanderer returned home early on Thursday and is now being thoroughly spoilt by owners Chris and Emma Donohue and their daughters, Jordan and Gabrielle.

Mrs Donohue said: "He found his way back to my brother's home and my mother opened the door to find him in the garden.

"She brought him straight round and we were all up in the middle of the night giving him cuddles.

"God knows where he has been. He was starving, so we gave him something to eat, and he has slept for most of the day. He is now enjoying a nice, big, juicy bone. We are all over the moon to have him back.''