Bonita Springs family reunited with teacup poodle missing for 5 days

A service dog missing for five days has been reunited with her family after she was found four miles from home in the woods.

The 6-pound pup, a 3.5-year-old teacup poodle named Tillie, is also a medically trained diabetic service dog for her owner Julie Lowe.

“She will wake me up in the middle of the night when my blood sugar is low or high,” Julie said.

Tillie is more than just a pet for Julie.

“They’re family,” she said.

The little dog went missing on Thursday while Julie and her husband Bob got a call when they were on a cruise in Alaska that Tillie got out through the fence in the back.

“It’s absolutely helpless,” Julie said.  “I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t sit down for dinner. I was just panicking.”

When their neighbors at Quail West and Bonita Springs Fire Control and Rescue District heard about Tillie’s disappearance, they all came together to help.

“We just searched everywhere we could possibly search, knowing time was of the essence,” said Bridget Vasquez, Quail West neighbor.

They searched for Tillie for five days and put up posters before a member of the Bonita Springs Fire Department spotted her in a wooded area around 4 miles from the Lowe’s home.

“I kind of hung in the middle calling her name. And she came to me, running me. And I had to pick her up over this black construction tarp. I got her and I just sat down and bawled,” Julie said.

Now, the Lowe family is whole again.