Canine pals Phoebe and Tillie were reunited with their owners this week, but there was a very special story behind their return.

Tillie, a Setter mix and Phoebe, a Basset hound, went missing earlier this month in Seattle, and their owners feared the worst.

With no sightings of the pair after almost a week, it seemed more and more likely they could be stuck in a building or a ravine. 

Thankfully, at the beginning of this week a pet service in the area got a call to say a "reddish" coloured dog matching Tillie's description had been spotted outside a house before disappearing into a nearby wooded area.

Volunteers from VIPP, the Vashon Island Pet Protection service, started a wide search of the woods, and what they found was truly amazing.

Tillie was standing guard over her four-legged pal Phoebe, who had become trapped in a cement 'cistern,' a large receptacle built to hold rainwater.

Luckily she was uninjured and had stayed above water by sitting on a pile of bricks, but the height of the wall left her physically unable to get out.

"For nearly a week Tillie stayed by her side with the exception of the few minutes of each day when she went for help," VIPP explained via Facebook.

Both dogs were cold and hungry but otherwise in happy spirits when found.

Offering advice to dog owners, VIPP's Amy Carey told Daily Mail that a disappearance with no sightings should be taken very seriously.

"My message to most people with missing dogs is that unless the dog is being seen periodically, it is likely stuck somewhere," she said. "That's where the amazing Miss Tillie steps in as the heroine of this story."

What a happy ending!