Newlyweds spend wedding day searching for missing dog: ‘I’m covered in scratches’

When these newlyweds’ puppy went missing for 28 hours, their wedding party quickly turned into a search party.

Daniel and Rachel Munday cut their nuptial celebrations short when they learned that their new puppy, Crash, had vanished, according to South West News Service.

The cocker spaniel pup was out for a walk with the dog sitter about a half-hour away from the ceremony in Oakham in Rutland, England.

Crash was taken off his leash, as usual, when he became spooked by other dogs and refused to get back in the sitter’s van — and subsequently dashed into the woods around 11 a.m. on May 14, several hours before the couple tied the knot.

The sitter frantically searched for the 8-month-old and contacted the maid of honor’s sisters, who joined the search. That lasted for about an hour before the couple resigned to interrupting the wedding reception.

“Before we knew it, 80% of the wedding party were out looking for Crash,” Rachel, 32, told SWNS.

The bride quickly changed out of her white dress and into a hoodie and track pants. “I didn’t fancy ruining my wedding dress, but I didn’t think too much about it at the time,” she explained. “I just wanted to find Crash.”

But many others, including the 37-year-old groom, remained in their wedding attire as they searched through the woods in the rain to find the missing dog. “I thought finding Crash was only going to take 10 minutes, that he would end up coming to the wedding reception and it would be a funny anecdote,” Daniel shared.

“I didn’t have time to change my clothes when we set off looking, and the wedding gear wasn’t the comfiest. I’m covered in scratches and blisters.”

The wedding party searched and called Crash’s name — which they realized later might have scared him away — in the woods for several hours before it grew dark. After sunset, the wedding guests went home while the newlyweds slept in their car, waiting for the sun to rise before resuming their search.

“I thought, ‘This isn’t supposed to be how I spend my wedding day.’ It was all so surreal,” Rachel said.

The newlyweds were eventually joined by helpful strangers who responded to family Facebook posts about the misfortune. Another dog sitter who joined the search suggested the couple contact Drone to Home, which is run by a volunteer named Phil who uses his drone to help find missing pets.

“Phil came and checked 2 miles of open fields for us in two minutes. We knew what area [Crash] was in so he could position himself in that area. Phil was great. He came in with such confidence,” Rachel said.

“We then had a sighting of [Crash], and then two minutes later my father-in-law called saying he was in the car.” The pup was “dry and fine,” despite the inclement weather.

“We were just so relieved. We are so grateful to all the assistance we had from people. So many people offered to help,” Rachel said.

Crash was excitedly welcomed by his family — including the pooch’s half-brother, Bobby — and even enjoyed a tasty piece of wedding cake as the newly officiated family returned home.

The Mundays now plan to make up for their lost celebrations by having a belated wedding barbecue — though Crash may be kept indoors this time.