It was the appeal that reunited Siggiewi residents and beyond as the disappearance of a much-loved 11-month dog sparked a major search. 

And it all paid off - the Agius family was ecstatic on Saturday after it was reunited with Belle, the King Charles spaniel dog that went missing in Siggiewi last Tuesday.

Belle after being reunited with the children.

The promise of a €500 reward and Dr Sabine Agius Cabourdin's heartfelt online appeal to help retrieve the dog went viral on social media.

The dog uncharacteristically climbed its owners' property wall last Tuesday and failed to return, sparking panic among the Agius family. 

Several appeals on social media and radio stations were in vain and the owners feared the worst especially after on Thursday they spent three hours looking for a dog which uncannily resembled Belle.

A resident finally offered a ray of hope, contacting them to say she recalled seeing a dog being picked up by two men on the Siggiewi bypass who proceeded to place it in a van. 

After desperately knocking on doors to try to locate CCTV footage to identify the vehicle in question, the police stepped into the search, eventually locating the owner of the van. When they knocked on the door, the men said they believed the dog had been lost. 

"I have no words to express my gratitude to everyone who helped. The kids were ecstatic, the dog was super happy," Dr Agius Cabourdin told Times of Malta, sharing a video of her children happily dancing with the dog.  

As a sense of gratitude to all those who helped, the Agius family intend to donate the €500 reward to a dogs' home.