I was in town on Saturday night having dinner with my daughter and her partner.

We left Snooki at home locked inside the house. There had been some lightning and thunder and when we got home we found she had somehow escaped.

I drove around for hours looking for her but to no avail.

The next morning I posted her photo on Bellingen Facebook as well as my own FB page.

The response was immediate and extraordinary - there were about 20 people from Summervilles Rd looking for her and people I had never met from Bellingen were offering support, encouragement and prayers for her return.

By 4 pm I was moving from stress to resignation and deep sadness.

Then my phone rang.

"Hello , you don't know me, but I'm from Cairns and your dog is safe, and being cared for in Dorrigo."

I was stunned ... how does someone from Cairns know about my dog?

"Well" she said "I used to live in Bellingen and was looking at the Bellingen Facebook site and saw a photo of your beautiful dog.

"I then went onto a national Facebook site for missing animals and saw a photo of your dog ... posted by a lady in Sydney."

This was getting more extraordinary by the second.

"I phoned the lady in Sydney" said this beautiful lady from Cairns, "and she told me her parents had Snooki but didn't have Facebook so they asked her to post a photo."

She gave me the parents number and 30 minutes later I was on my way to a lovely home in a valley about 18 ks from Dorrigo.

There was Snooki, sitting on an outdoor lounge relaxed and comfortable.

Yes, I cried when I saw her. The people who found her had picked her up on the Waterfall Way, stressed and dishevelled on Saturday.

She is now back home safe and happy. As I am.

I posted this story on Facebook and have had over 500 messages of joy amazement and delight with her return. Even one from a Bellingen resident currently in Warsaw, who said he got misty eyed when he read the story.

I am overwhelmed with the love and support from Bellingen Shire residents and indeed all across the world,.. Hong Kong, London, USA, Switzerland.

So the purpose of this letter is to say very publicly thank you to the wonderful people of Bellingen and Thora and Dorrigo for your support.

It makes me feel privileged to live in this extraordinary part of the world. Great things can happen when people care about each other. Great things can happen when when social media is used to do good in the world.

Cairns, Sydney, Bellingen, Dorrigo, Thora - all connected through Facebook to bring home my beloved dog, Snooki.

Thank you all from the depths of my soul

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