A KEEN canine helped another dog out of a hole when he lost a leg brace he depended on for his walk.

Milo, a short-haired pointer, parted company with his brace while out for a walk on Upton Heath, leaving him disabled and unable to enjoy his regular walks.

But he is now bounding around again after the brace was found by a Dorset Wildlife Trust warden and his dog.

Milo’s leg was badly broken when he was hit by a car in May, when he was only a nine-month- old pup.

With two metal plates in his leg and the specially-made brace, he had been able to enjoy walks across the DWT nature reserve.

Milo’s owner, Matthew Pond from Poole, contacted the trust the morning after the brace went missing, in the hope someone might hand it in.

Later the same day, warden Nigel Brooks and his dog Buba, discovered it on their lunchtime walk.

“I can’t praise the Dorset Wildlife Trust staff at Upton Heath highly enough,” said a grateful Matthew.

“I really though it was a lost cause – needle in a haystack came to mind.

“Since Milo’s had the brace there is no stopping him.

“Anyone who knows the breed will know they have boundless energy and do everything at 100 miles an hour.

“We are so grateful that the brace was found as Milo has been forlorn and it would have cost us a small fortune to get it replaced.”

Nigel said: “We were very happy to reunite Milo with his brace so he can get out and about again.

“We find all sorts of litter on the heath but this was certainly one of the more unusual finds for us.

“Buba should take the credit really, as she’s the one who found it.

“Without her it could easily have been completely lost in the heather.”

As a thank-you Matthew has made a donation to the Upton Heath Appeal, to restore the nature reserve after the devastating fire in June.