Yesterday, he was crying tears of joy after being reunited with Flash after more than a week apart.

The white and brown West Highland Terrier Jack Russell cross was handed to Mr Roelofs’ wife Mary by a nearby resident yesterday.

Mr Roelofs — who is profoundly deaf and relies on a Cochlear implant — had been searching through the town for his missing mate at the time and returned home to a heartwarming surprise.

“I had my doubts he would be found, but I said to myself that we had to keep thinking positive,” he said.

“I had been pretty depressed because of the fact I couldn’t get closure.

“I’d had terrible thoughts about him lying dead on the side of the road.

“This is a much better outcome by far.”

Mr Roelofs had been told by a neighbour last week that a car had stopped and picked up Flash last Monday and driven off with him.

“Someone has obviously had him under their roof for quite a while and they have done a clandestine hair clipping job,” he said.

“I think it was done on the sly to make him look different.”

So much so Mrs Roelofs didn’t recognise Flash at first and took him to the vet to have his microchip checked, which confirmed his identity.

“There were tears in Jim’s eyes when he saw him,” she said.

Mr Roelofs had relied on Flash for his hearing before he had the Cochlear implant installed about 12 months ago.