A smart dog that went missing was reunited with its owners after he hitched a ride on a passenger ferry to come home.

Named Jarvis, the Jack Russell boarded himself on the boat after he went missing while chasing a rabbit.

After getting on the shore, he made his way through the busy streets to return to his delighted owners— Vivienne Oxley, 56, and granddaughter Kaytie, two.

Jarvis, six, went missing on an outing to a park on the Cornish side of Plymouth Sound with his owners.

"I was really, really upset when he ran off and honestly didn't expect to see him again," The Mirror quoted Vivienne, from Stoke, Plymouth, as saying.

She added: "When he got home he just wagged his tail and then sat in the window as if nothing had happened!"