A DOG-LOVING couple got the best Christmas gift they could have hoped for when their missing border collie cross was miraculously captured and returned to them - 23 days after first going on the run.

Steve and Rosie Taylor today (Friday, December 26) thanked the hundreds of people who had helped in the search for Cara - and the many thousands more who followed their progress on social media.

Cara, went missing during a walk on beach in Nose’s Point, Seaham, east Durham, just weeks after being adopted. She was spotted dozens of times before she was finally baited and caught.

Mr Taylor of Houghton-le-Spring, said: “I got a call on Tuesday from a woman saying Merry Christmas. I said: “No you’re; a bit early for that”.

“She said 'No! Merry Christmas. We’ve got your dog.' I was quite taken aback.”

Mrs Taylor added: “It’s a Christmas miracle. I am overjoyed. A big thanks to everyone for the fantastic support and continuous help.”

Cara went missing after being adopted from the Dogs Trust in Darlington.

Mr Taylor said: “I only had her three weeks and was walking her on beach when she was spooked by the waves and ran off. She was last seen running toward Easington Village.”

After several confirmed sightings of Cara, between Cold Hesleden and Easington in the first week, dozens of people joined a search party. But they drew a blank.

A dog matching her description was seen in several locations enabling Mr Taylor to build a pattern of her “track”.

A Facebook page Help Find Cara generated thousands of likes and attracting global interest.

"We were flagging at one stage, but never gave up," he added.

“Then we had five sightings in Murton on Saturday, December 20. It lifted our spirits.”

John Hemmingway disturbed a dog resembling Cara in his garden in the village’s Stevens Road.

Mr Taylor said: “I asked them to bait their garden in an attempt to keep her in one area. In the first evening the bait was taken three times."

Mr Hemmingway then rigged a cord to a bone that would cause a door to close, thus trapping Cara in a safe area. On the third occasion the trap activated.

Cara, who has seen a vet, is fine apart from a slight limp to her front right paw, for which she has been given antibiotics.

Mr Taylor said: “Cara has proved herself to be more than a match for anything when out and about.”