A RESCUE dog from Penmaenmawr has become a national sensation in Croatia after finding a missing toddler. Three-year-old Branka Aleksic disappeared from his grandmother’s garden last Wednesday. His disappearance sparked a massive search involving members of the Croatian Army, firemen, mountain rescue services and dozens of local volunteers. After a 20 hour search involving 300 people, hopes were fading fast until Hosan, a collie trained by Global Rescue Services, found the boy three miles away in woodland above his granny’s house. Although he was suffering from mild hypothermia, Branka was uninjured. His dad Damir said: “I don’t have strong enough words to say thanks to everyone who helped. “My son is relatively OK. All he said was ‘mummy is crying’. I think we’ll keep an eye on him every minute of the day.” Hosan’s handler Josip Granic said: “The hills weren’t very high but the landscape made searching difficult. “The dog found him near trees and bushes where he had obviously spent the night.” Hosan is one of five dogs trained in Penmaenmawr that are with the Croatian mountain rescue services. Gavin Roberts, from Global Rescue Services, said: “We have enjoyed a good working relationship with the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service and have in the past run some joint training sessions. “In April a few of the team are going out to help run a search management course. Hosan, along with her sister Socs, was originally trained by her handler Eilian Williams for open search work and last May she was donated to the Croatians to continue her training in Karlovac. “Hosan now lives with her handler Josip, and as you can see she is now working well and is a credit to the work she and her handler Eilian put in during the formative months of her training.” mari.jones | 
