A dog looked unrecognisable after vanishing and living in the wild for four months.
Christine Lee and her dad Rocky were left distraught when their three-year-old poodle called Blue went missing.
He got out of their back garden and the dad and daughter feared they would never see him again.
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They last saw him on August 15 near their home in Salford, Gtr Mancs.
But he was found last Friday (Dec 6) in woods nearby.
Blue had been living off scraps in freezing cold temperatures throughout the autumn and early winter.
He also had to endure fireworks going off near Bonfire Night.
But the bedraggled pooch’s well-kept white fluffy fur had turned brown and was overgrown and matted.
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Yet after a bath he looked like his old self again.
Christine, 29, said: “We honestly didn’t think we would see him again
“He’d been gone for so long and it’s been so cold with fireworks going off.
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“He must have been terrified.
“Michelle brought him back but he hardly responded to me at first.
“He licked my hand and then perked up when I called his name.
“His coat was badly matted and his skin red where it had got infected.
“He was so thin and his bones were sticking out.
“He’s had a bath now and is back to normal, but he was very lucky.”
Blue was found thanks to the Greater Manchester Lost Dog Search and Rescue Capture Team.
They put a camera and food near a possible sighting of him last Wednesday (4 December).
Michelle Newns-Peers, who runs the missing canine group, said: “We placed a feed station and live camera near to where he had been seen and a scent trail mix leading to the food.
“Approximately an hour later he turned up and fed.
“The following day, Friday. 6 December, we replaced the feed station with a humane trap laced with appetising food and settled in our cars to wait.
“At 11.04pm, he turned up at the trap, walked around it once and went straight in.
“The trap door shut and he was finally safe.”
They added: “Once safely inside a house, we let him out of the trap and he went to me and buried his head in my chest.
“He was so scared, bless him, but he wanted comfort.
“He had been lost for four months and survived out there all this time.”
He was reunited with Christine and Rocky after his microchip was scanned.
Christine told What’s The Jam: “Please keep your dog’s microchip details updated and stay positive.
“There’s always hope so never give up.”
