‘Tis the season for lost dog stories, it would seem — especially those with a happy ending, as is the case with Denise Skinner’s dog Honey, who made a dash for freedom in Bonnie Doon more than a week ago.

Denise’s love of dogs is well known around town through the Story Dogs program, which runs at Mansfield Primary School and encourages children to read with the help of a canine friend in the classroom.

“On Tuesday, 17 March, while I was coming home from Melbourne, my husband Wayne took our two Cavalier King Charles spaniels (Honey and Poppy) out for a quick walk to check on my horse,” Denise said.

“The horse was situated on a neighbour’s property on Hutchinsons Road in Bonnie Doon.

“While there, one of our dogs slipped her collar and began chasing the wildlife, with Wayne in hot pursuit,” she said.

Honey quickly outpaced him and disappeared over the hills, completely oblivious to the danger she was getting herself into.

“I joined the search when I got home but was very apprehensive about her ability to find her way home because she has cataracts and is completely deaf,” Denise said.

The Skinners spent the next four days combing the hills and digging up wombat holes while searching and posting flyers, desperately hoping for Honey’s return.

“As we have already had two dogs bitten by a snake, with one not surviving, we could not bear to lose another under these circumstances,” she said.

Denise was moved by how her community and neighbours rallied around to offer help and support in the search for Honey.

On Friday, 20 March, Denise was in Melbourne for a conference when, during a break, she noticed a missed call from Delatite Vets.

“On calling back, I discovered that a hunter heading up to the mountain had spotted her on the Maroondah Highway, put her on the front seat of his car and handed her into the vets,” she said.

After staff scanned her microchip to confirm ownership, Wayne drove into Mansfield immediately to collect Honey.

“Apart from being completely covered in grass seeds and matted, she appeared to be fit and healthy, just tired,” Denise said.

“For a pampered pooch who had never spent a night outside in her six years, she was in remarkably good condition.”

Only Honey knows what she did during those four nights — and she is certainly not talking, according to Denise.