A dog which was feared to have been abandoned on a bus in east London has been reunited with his family after his owner saw its picture on the Evening Standard website.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was found sitting in the pram and wheelchair area of a 158 bus which travelled through Leyton on Thursday evening.
Bus driver Amos Paul Mak spotted the lonely pooch and when the service terminated at Stratford Bus Station, took to Facebook to try and find its owner.
The dog spent the evening on the bus, which was taken out of service and sent to West Ham bus garage, before being handed over to Newham Council’s dog wardens on Friday.
Today, four-year-old Boston was reunited with his owner Paulina Rybak, who said her pet disappeared while being taken for a walk on Thursday
She told the Standard: “We took him outside and after few seconds, we couldn’t see him. We started looking for him but couldn’t find him.
“On Friday, in the morning, I went to my vet and told them I lost my dog and they told me to call Newham Council.
“They said: “When we find the dog, we will let you know”. But we ended up finding him on the Evening Standard website.
“I was so happy I started crying. I thought we would never see him again.”
Miss Rybak, who has had Boston since he was six-weeks-old, said she and her two young children, Filip, 8, and Zofia, 3, were devastated when their pet vanished.
She said: “I felt very, very sad because he is part of our family.
“My children were very sad. My boy was crying and my daughter was as well. Now they are very happy and are with him now.”
Miss Rybak added it was the first time Boston has run off and fears someone tried to steal him before abandoning him on the bus.
Mr Mak, who has been a bus driver for four years, said he remembers Boston getting onto the bus with two men.
He told the Standard: “I am genuinely pleased Boston is home and I will let all the staff at Stagecoach, who helped keep him comfortable and stress free, know.
“My colleague Benji stayed working for a few hours after his shift unpaid to try and find a place to take him, Leigh Anne on the counter kept phoning all night to try and get him taken in somewhere and Liezel constantly kept an eye on and gave Boston hugs throughout the night.”
