PR magnate Matthew Freud’s dog, which went missing more than a week ago, has been found after a 10-day search that saw celebrities spread the word to help track him down.
Caroline Hutton, ex-wife of the publicity guru, told the Standard that the discovery of fox-red labrador Vincent in a doorway in Earl’s Court was “absolutely amazing”.
Mr Freud had offered a £5,000 reward for the safe return of the pedigree dog, which went missing in the Italian fountains area of Hyde Park on Thursday, May 25.
A missing poster for the beloved hound trended on Twitter after it was shared more than 2,000 times, including by Mr Freud’s sister Emma Freud – co-founder of Comic Relief.
On Saturday, Ms Freud updated her Twitter followers: "Vincent is found! Huge love to the police, the RSPCA and DoglostUK... Big serious finger pointed at the naughty dog."
Ms Hutton told the Standard earlier on Saturday that she had been out on a run with Vincent and was just about to leave the park when the dog disappeared in “literally seconds”.
“He was there one minute and gone the next,” she said.
The suddenness of his disappearance raised fears Vincent did not simply wander off, but could have been stolen - a possibility she described as "heart-wrenching".
Nearly 5,000 cases of dog theft were reported to police in England and Wales between 2013 and 2015, but animal welfare workers the figure represents only a small fraction of the problem of dognapping.
Kind-hearted social media users and the website doglost.co.uk had been "very lovely" in helping find Vincent, who is now being taken care of once more by his family.
