At 7:00am, boots on and a drive to the Valbelle bridge. There is a path that runs to the top of Bevons, along the ridges and back towards le Mas du Chene. I knew that Oscar had walked the path before, so it had to be worth the attempt. Two and a half hours later, I was back at the house, defeated again.

I wanted another go at searching, so I took a couple of litres of frozen water and drove on my own, back up to the route forestier. This time I searched the valley below the point at which Oscar had disappeared. Dense foliage and unstable terrain slowed me down but eventually I reached a small stream. Dogs would know to go to water, I reasoned, so Oscar may have got this far and started to follow the water downstream. After 90 minutes I realised that the stream fed into the Ribiers valley, so Oscar may not be in the Jabron valley at all. I climbed back up to the car and set off for home to let Ariane know that she may need to contact additional services.

It was now midday and I had just rejoined the top of the tarmac section off the route forestier, driving towards the Mas du Figuier, when I saw a large white dog ambling down the road. I stopped - he looked at the car and turned away. I got out of the car, called "Oscar", and he made his way uncertainly towards me, looking at me a little suspiciously. I sat down in the middle of the road and called again. He definitely looked like Oscar, but when he reached me I even felt the need to check his collar just in case this was some weird coincidental look-alike. Those who know me well will understand that at the point of reunion there may have been an expression of emotion over which I shall draw a veil.

I phoned Ariane and set off for home, stopping every now and then to tear down yesterday's "Chien Perdu" posters. Happiness all round when we arrived. Oscar had suffered some damage to the pads of his feet - not surprising given the heat and the rocky terrain. Apart from that, despite his 28-hour absence, he was, and is, fine. I jumped into the pool to cool down, poured myself a large beer and relaxed. Life was good! 

I have to thank everyone who expressed concern and support during the past day and a half, including Danielle, Thierry, Bob, David and especially Ariane, who held us all together despite our fears. 

And the moral of this story, if there is one...?