LAKEVILLE — Lakeville resident Monica Donnelly knew she was in the dog house when she received an urgent call from her parents telling her that her family’s beloved border collie, Bonnie, had run away while she was three and half hours away from home on a weekend trip to New Hampshire.

“I was in New Hampshire so it was such a feeling of helplessness and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ We literally had our ski boots on,” said Donnelly.

Bonnie was originally adopted by her son Jack Dupre, who is a Marine sergeant. He was no longer able to care for her after being transferred from South Carolina to California shortly before being deployed. He asked that Bonnie be taken care of by his mother while he is away.

“That’s kind of a big ask, but luckily Bonnie is the sweetest dog on the planet,” said Donnelly.

Bonnie enjoys trail running with cousin Chip Rodenbush, taking sheep herding lessons in her free time and is an avid traveller, according to Donnelly. She’s been to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, California and many other destinations on road trips with her family.

It was devastating to everyone whose lives she touched when they heard the news that she ran away, Donnelly said.

She said she took action right away — calling her parents’ neighbors, calling her friends and posting on social media pages of every South Coast town she could think of. She was floored by the response she received.

“The most amazing thing about this whole story for me was the amount of people that actually showed up to look for her. People that I knew and didn’t know,” said Donnelly.

On social media, community members were quick to offer help and spread the word. Over 500 people shared her initial Facebook post about Bonnie running away.

Bonnie had run from Acushnet to New Bedford, being spotted at Gifts to Give and on the Dollar Tree CCTV cameras. Donnelly’s hometown community came to support her during this trying time

“People I went to high school with — I went to New Bedford High — and people who I hadn’t even seen since then or talked to live in person were showing up,” said Donnelly. “I was overwhelmed. It was incredible.”

The search party grew in size as more people became aware of Bonnie’s escape.

“There were dozens and dozens of people that were just out driving and searching and calling for her,” said Donnelly.

As Bonnie continued to elude the search party, Donnelly called Sam Aromin of Hawkeye Aerial Systems to assist. Aromin specializes in using drone technology to help others locate lost animals.

Unfortunately, the drone was not authorized to take off in that specific area because it is in the flight path of New Bedford airport and later that night the drone was unable to ascend due to pouring rain.

Donnelly and Rodenbush slept in their cars that night with the windows open in case Bonnie would smell them and approach while they were resting.

The next morning Bonnie was spotted at the industrial park in New Bedford.

“We all ran down there like storm chasers,” said Donnelly.

The crew spotted her at the industrial park and Aromin was able to track her running with his drone, but Bonnie was too skittish to approach after being outside alone all night.

Ultimately, Donnelly decided to go home and bring back her other dog Kora to see if her presence would coax Bonnie toward them.

“I think that’s why she came to me in the end,” said Donnelly. “All of a sudden her whole demeanor changed.”

Bonnie returned home uninjured after 24 hours of searching. She was treated to a steak and a bath to celebrate.

“We’re just beyond thankful,” Donnelly said. “I just don’t even know how to thank everybody for what they did.”