A Missing Pup Named Lilly is Bringing Strangers Together

Photo Credit: Chantal du Bois-Payaniandi | Supplied

A little Yorkshire terrier has been missing from her Springs home for almost seven weeks but her family is far from searching alone. Thousands are now following Lilly’s story, including a 3-year-old girl with the same name who has decided she needs to help bring her home.

Springs, South Africa (12 August 2026) – For almost seven weeks, one Springs family has been searching for a tiny dog they love very much. Flyers have gone up, streets have been searched, vets and shelters have been contacted and social media has carried her little face further and further across South Africa.

Her name is Lilly. And now, another little Lilly has joined the search.

Chantal du Bois-Payaniandi contacted Good Things Guy to tell us about her Yorkshire terrier, Lilly, who disappeared from the family’s Springs home six and a half weeks ago after a faulty gate motor caused their gate to bounce open following a delivery.

“This is the first time that our furbaby, Lilly, has managed to get out of our property and heartbreakingly, we have not seen her since,” Chantal explains.

The family began searching almost immediately.

“We searched for her the entire Thursday, Friday and Saturday from early morning to late at night, driving and driving, searching open veld, and looking in open drains, driving up and down roads, but all to no avail.”

They were eventually told about pet-tracing K9 teams and called them in to help. The dogs searched for Lilly twice, tracking her scent to a local school. Children there remembered seeing Lilly and trying to catch her on the Friday that schools closed for the holidays but she managed to evade them. According to Chantal, Lilly’s scent eventually ended at a particular spot, leading the family to believe somebody may have picked her up.

“We definitely believe she is still alive and that someone has picked her up and taken her with them.”

And that belief has kept them going. There have been no reports of Lilly being found injured and no confirmed sightings since the school. Chantal hopes somebody may simply have picked Lilly up believing they were helping a lost dog and that perhaps they are searching for her owners too.

The family has put up flyers and posters, placed adverts in their local newspaper, contacted vets and animal shelters and shared Lilly’s story repeatedly online.

“We have made every effort within our capacity to bring attention to her disappearance and have also pleaded on social media for her return,” Chantal says.

Those posts are now travelling far beyond Springs, with thousands of South Africans following Lilly’s story and hoping for the update everyone wants to read.

“Every time I open Facebook I hope with all my heart you see she is home.”

“Praying that Lilly is returned home soon.”

“My heart breaks for you, I’m praying one morning I’ll read she’s home safe.”

And then, among all the searching, sharing and hoping, something incredibly sweet happened. Chantal received a message from the dad of a three-year-old girl who had spotted one of the missing posters while driving with her family. Her name is also Lilly.

“The good and very sweet, heartwarming thing in this story, which has really brought light into my broken heart, is that we were contacted by the Daddy of a little girl named Lilly,” Chantal shared.

“She saw our posters while driving with her family and asked them to help her help us bring Lilly home. She wants to be like PAW Patrol and help do good things and help those in need. How precious is that?”

Little Lilly was adopted by her family when she was just six hours old and her dad explained just how much the missing pup’s story has captured her heart.

“Every time we drive past one of your posters along the road, our Lilly sees it and says:

‘There is Lilly! She is so cute! Let’s go look for her. We need to rescue her!’

She gets this from PAW Patrol, where the pups are always looking for someone who needs help. To her, Lilly isn’t just a dog on a poster. Lilly is another Lilly who needs to be brought home. It has touched our hearts more than I can explain. Every family deserves to have their Lilly home. Please know that there are people who care, even people who have never met her. And there is one little girl here who sees your poster and genuinely believes that she and her PAW Patrol team need to rescue Lilly and bring her home.”

The two families have never met, but little Lilly’s family has offered to print additional flyers, hand them out and share posts on social media to help bring the missing Lilly home. For Chantal, that kindness has become an unexpected part of an incredibly difficult few weeks.

“This also highlights that goodness still exists, which in this case comes in the form of a beautiful, kind-hearted little three-year-old girl who wants to be like PAW Patrol to help us get Lilly home.”

And now that circle of people searching has become even bigger.

At Good Things Guy, we have shared so many stories of missing pups finding their way home. We have seen families reunited after days, weeks and even longer, often because one person recognised a photograph, shared a post, spotted a dog or remembered seeing something that suddenly mattered. We are hoping with everything we have that Lilly’s story becomes one of those stories too.

So today, we’re helping it travel a little further.

If you have any information about Lilly or know where she may be, please contact David on 071 446 2869.