If Murphy the Boxer dog could speak he would have a real tale to tell.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend, but in the case of Murphy his owner Lewis Blythe has shown him true friendship.

A relaxing break in the Lake District turned into disaster when Murphy went missing for five days, and he was only found when Mr Blythe, from Bury St Edmunds, flew out in a helicopter to continue the search.

A social media campaign started by the Notts and Yorkshire Boxer Rescue team went viral, with fundraising paying for Mr Blythe’s helicopter trip.

It was also embraced by celebrities including actress Jessica Biel, TV presenter Clare Balding and rugby player Mike Tindall.

Mr Blythe, who works for Suffolk County music service, said it was “quite a good belated birthday present” after Murphy was rescued on Saturday, a day after his birthday.

He said: “I was relieved and just overwhelmed at all the support from mountain rescue and particularly the Boxer rescue team - without them we wouldn’t have got our dog back.”

Mr Blythe explained he was on holiday with his partner Gary Lee and his partner’s mum and dad when the Boxer dog went missing on one of the hills in the Angle Tarn area on April 14 when his lead came off the harness.

After the mountain rescue team’s search was unsuccessful, Mr Blythe used fundraising cash to pay for a helicopter to try and find his beloved pet, which is aged one year and nine months.

“He was lying about 100 metres from where we lost him and he looked at us and he sat up and we landed and climbed up the hill and got him.”

The vet said Murphy was absolutely fine part from a few grazes, Mr Blythe said. He must have had access to water and must have eaten a lot of sheep poo, the vet had told Mr Blythe.

“He’s on the thin side. He lost about five kilos which is a lot for a dog and other than that he’s back to his normal self a bit.”

He said Murphy had become a “bit of a celebrity”.